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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 






























Open air school, San Diego County 





CALIFORNIA STATE SERIES 


PRIMER 
OF HYGIENE 

BY 

JOHN W. RITCHIE 

PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, COLLEGE OF WILLIAM 
AND MARY, VIRGINIA 

AND 

JOSEPH S. CALDWELL 

PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, GEORGE PEABODY COLLEGE 
FOR TEACHERS, TENNESSEE 


Revised by the State Text-book Committee and approved 
by the State Board of Education 


ILLUSTRATED BY KARL HASSMANN 
AND HERMANN HEYER 


SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 
W. W. SHANNON, Superintendent of State Printing 

i 9 i i 




Copyright , 1910, by World Booh Company , 
Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York. Entered at 
Stationers’ Hall, London. Copyright , 1911, by 
the People of the State of California. All rights 
reserved. 

In the compilation of this work certain matter 
from Ritchie-Caldwell’s Primer of Hygiene has 
been used. All such matter is protected by the 
copyright entries noted above. 


1 E—25 M—8, ’ll 


.. 19*t 



PREFACE 


In comparatively recent years a new knowledge that 
is able to save man from a great part of the sickness 
that has heretofore afflicted him has come into the 
world. This knowledge reaches the people but 
slowly, however, and there are yet at all times in the 
United States three millions of people who are 
seriously ill, one-half of them suffering from ailments 
that are easily preventable. 

The writers of this text have felt that the greatest 
immediate service our schools can render is to teach 
the facts that will enable the people to shake off the 
great burden of preventable disease that they are now 
carrying. They believe that hygiene should be faith¬ 
fully taught in every schoolroom in the land, and that 
the object of teaching it should be the prevention of 
sickness. He who would seek the motive of this small 
volume will therefore easily find it; for the single 
purpose of the authors has been to select those facts 
that have been shown by modern science to be vital 
in health conservation, and to present these facts in 
the simplest form possible. 

It is believed that those familiar with our crowded 
school curricula will appreciate the slim compass into 
which the matter has been brought, and it is hoped 
that this little book may serve a useful purpose in the 
hands of those earnest teachers who are leading their 
pupils and their communities into the Era of Health 
that lies before us. 

iii 


TO THE TEACHER 


The teacher who uses this text will find Allen’s 
Civics and Health (Ginn & Company, Boston), Shaw’s 
School Hygiene (The Macmillan Company, New 
York), McVail’s The Prevention of Infectious Diseases 
(The Macmillan Company), Lloyd and Bigelow’s 
The Teaching of Biology (Longmans, Green & Com¬ 
pany, New York), and Hutchinson’s Preventable 
Diseases (Houghton, Mifflin & Company, Boston), 
most useful in giving a background for the teach¬ 
ing of the subject. McKenzie’s Exercise in Edu¬ 
cation and Medicine (W. B. Saunders Company, 
Philadelphia), Harrington’s Practical Hygiene (Lea 
and Febiger, Philadelphia), and Jordan’s Principles 
of Bacteriology (W. B. Saunders Company), are books 
of a more advanced nature, but they can be profit¬ 
ably consulted by even the non-technical reader. 
Ritchie’s Primer of Sanitation and Human Physi- 
ology , the second and third books of the series which 
includes this text, will furnish more detailed infor¬ 
mation in regard to many of the topics discussed, 
and the Gulick Hygiene Series (Ginn & Company) 
will be of service to the teacher. These or other 
similar books should be at the command of the 
teacher, for there can be little doubt of the truth 
of Spencer’s dictum that hygiene is the most im¬ 
portant subject in the schools and that it should 
yield to no subject in the care with which it is taught 
or in the time devoted to it. 


iv 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Importance of Keeping the Body in 

Health . i 

II. The Human Body and the Great Laws 

of Health ..... 5 

III. Foods and their Uses in the Body . 9 

IV. Buying Foods . . . . 15 

V. Cooking Foods . . . 19 

VI. Caring for Foods . . . .22 

VII. The Digestive Organs and their Work 26 

VIII. Keeping the Digestive Organs in Health 32 

IX. The Care of the Teeth ... 38 

X. The Air we Breathe .... 46 

XI. The Lungs and Air Passages and their 

Care ...... 52 

XII. Adenoids and Enlarged Tonsils . 59 

XIII. The Blood and the Heart . . 63 

XIV. The Kidneys . . . .69 

XV. The Skin.71 

XVI. Clothing.77 

XVII. The Carriage of the Body . . 81 

XVIII. Exercise . . . . . .86 

XIX. The Nervous System .... 90 

XX. The Care of the Nervous System . 94 

XXI. The Importance of Habit ... 98 

XXII. The Effects of Alcohol on the Body . 103 

XXIII. The Effects of Tobacco on the Body . no 

XXIV. The Eyes and their Care . . . 113 

XXV. The Ear and its Care . . .121 

XXVI. Accidents.127 

XXVII. The Cells of the Body . . . 131 

XXVIII. Germs and Germ Diseases . . . 134 

XXIX. Pus-forming Germs .... 141 

XXX. Typhoid Fever.144 

V 





CONTENTS 


XXXI. 

XXXII. 

XXXIII. 

XXXIV. 

XXXV. 

XXXVI. 


Tuberculosis (Consumption) 

Other Diseases of the Air Passages 

and Lungs . 

Malaria, Smallpox, and other Germ 

Diseases . 

Preventing the Spread of Disease 
Germs ...... 

Fresh Air and the Resistance of the 
Body to Disease Germs 
Some Simple Exercises for Use in 
Schools. 


Cumulative Review 


Index 


PAGE 

150 

157 

163 

l66 

174 

179 

189 

193 


VI 



PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


CHAPTER ONE 

THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING THE BODY IN HEALTH 



Fig. i. When we have health we find the world a beautiful 
place in which to live. 


All of us know that this is a beautiful and a pleas¬ 
ant world. We enjoy the songs of the birds and 
the beauty of the flowers. It gives us pleasure to 
feel the soft winds of spring and to watch the green 
come back on the trees. We love to watch the 
clouds sail through the sky and the snowflakes fall 
through the air. Everywhere we turn we find 
many things that give us happiness and content¬ 
ment, and make the world a beautiful place for us 
to live in. 

Why is it that we cannot spend all our time en¬ 
joying the pleasant and beautiful things of life? 


2 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


Why must we take life so seriously? Why must 
older people work, and why must children study and 
prepare themselves for work? We will tell you the 
great reason why every one who wishes to enjoy the 
pleasant things of life cannot give all his time and 
thought to these same beautiful and pleasant things. 
It is because we must have health to enjoy the world , 
and we must work to care for our bodies and to keep 
them in health . 

The health of the body important. Nature 
has given to each of us a body, and in these bodies 
we must live as long as we are in the world. When 
our bodies are well and strong, we rejoice in them, 
and we see and feel the beauty of the world. But 
when sickness and pain come upon us, we can get 
little pleasure from all the things that have been 
provided for our enjoyment. This is why we must 
care for our bodies if we would enjoy the pleasures 
of life and do the work that is waiting in the world 
for each one of us. 

Work required to keep our bodies in health. 

To care for the body is not easy, for it must have 
food, it must be protected from cold, and it must 
have many other wants supplied. Indeed, so difficult 
is it to supply all the needs of our bodies that the hu¬ 
man race spends most of its time working to secure 
those things that are necessary for life and comfort. 
Yet our bodies must be cared for; otherwise we can 
neither get out of the world the happiness that it 


KEEPING THE BODY IN HEALTH 


3 


ought to hold for us, nor give to others the pleas¬ 
ure that our lives ought to bring to them. 

Hygiene important because it teaches how 
to care for the body. It is the purpose of this 
book to teach you how to care for your body 
and keep it in health. The study of this subject 
is called hygiene . It is a most important sub¬ 
ject to you — so important that if you cannot 
afford to take time to study it and understand 
it, there are few things that you can afford to 
take time to do. 

Questions : i. Why cannot we give all our time to enjoy¬ 
ing the pleasant things of the world? 2. Explain why it 
is so important for us to care for our bodies. 3. What is 
hygiene? 4. Why is the study of hygiene important? 

Suggestions and topics for development: Let the teacher and 
pupils keep an account of the number of days that are lost by 
the school or grade during the year on account of sickness. 

When any one is ill, record the cause of the sickness and deter¬ 
mine if possible whether or not it could have been prevented. At 
the end of the year count up how many days of sickness could 
have been prevented by reasonable care. 

The teacher should secure from the Secretary of the Committee 
of One Hundred on National Health, New Haven, Connecticut, 
Professor Irving Fisher’s “ Report on National Vitality, Its Wastes 
and Conservation.” This pamphlet contains a wealth of infor¬ 
mation in regard to the whole subject of health and disease pre¬ 
vention. It is important that both teacher and pupil understand 
that in a young person health is the natural condition; that sick¬ 
ness in such a person is unnatural; and that the cause of sickness 
in a young person should at once be looked for. 


4 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


humerus 



Fig. 2. The skeleton. 









CHAPTER TWO 


THE HUMAN BODY AND THE GREAT LAWS OF HEALTH 

A great engine is made of many different parts all 
put together to make one machine. So is the human 
body made of many different parts all joined to¬ 
gether to make one whole. The engineer must 
know when his engine needs coal and water and 
how to supply them. So we must understand the 
needs of our bodies and how to satisfy these 
needs. The engineer must know how to keep 
sand and dirt out of the working parts of the 
engine and how to oil these parts so that they 
will not wear each other away. So we must know 
how to keep out of our bodies the germs that cause 
disease and how to give our bodies the exercise and 
rest that are necessary for their health. In this 
chapter we shall study the parts of the body, the 
needs of the body, and the great laws we must 
observe to keep our bodies in health. 

The parts of the human body. The human 
body is composed of a head, a trunk, and two pairs 
of limbs. It is supported by a strong framework of 
bones on which the whole body is built. The muscles 
to move this framework of bones are stretched over 
it in strong bands, and the skin forms a tough 
covering over the whole body. 

The organs of the body. The bones and 
muscles form a thick wall about a large cavity in 
the trunk of the body. In this cavity are found 
5 


6 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


many of the organs that do the work of the body. 
In the upper part of the cavity we find the heart 
and lungs. In its lower part are the stomach, the 



Fig. 3. The principal organs of the body. The left lung has been 
removed and the edge of the right lung turned back to show the 
heart and blood vessels more clearly. 


intestines, the liver, the kidneys, and some other 
organs. In Figure 3 the organs are shown as they 
lie in place in the cavity of the trunk. 


THE HUMAN BODY 


7 


The uses of the organs. Each part of the body 
has a work to do. The bones give shape and strength 
to every part. Without them we should be as limp 
and shapeless as bags of sand. The muscles move 
all the body parts, and without the muscles we 
should be as motionless as trees or stones. The 
stomach and intestines take in food and prepare it 
for use; the heart keeps the blood moving through 
the body; and the lungs take in oxygen from 
the air. The hand has a work that the foot can¬ 
not do, and the eye has a work that the tongue 
cannot do. In the same way each part of the body 
has a work of its own that can be done by no other 
part. 

The great laws of health. For an engineer to 
understand the importance of taking care of his en¬ 
gine is not enough; he must also know how to do it. 
So, if we hope to have strong, healthy bodies, we 
must not only understand the importance of keep¬ 
ing the laws of health, but we must know what 
these laws are and how we can keep them. 

One of the great laws of health is that the body 
must have a proper supply of food. Another is that 
it must have an abundance of fresh air. A third is 
that the body must get rid of its poisonous wastes; 
a fourth law is that it must be sheltered from the 
weather so that it will not be too hot or too cold; 
and a fifth, that it must have exercise, rest, and 
sleep. Still another law, and a very important one, 


8 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


is that disease germs must not be allowed to get into 
the body and poison it. 

Every one of these laws must be followed if we 
are to keep our health and our strength; for so 
surely as an apple falls to the earth when its stem is 
separated from the tree, so surely is your body in¬ 
jured when the great laws of its life are broken. In 
later chapters of this book we shall discuss each of 
these laws and' point out how each may best be 
followed. 

Questions: i. Name the principal divisions of the body. 
2. What forms the framework of the body? 3. What is 
stretched over the framework of the body to move it? 
4. With what is the body covered? 5. What organs are in 
the upper part of the cavity of the body? 6. In the lower 
part? 7. What is the work of the bones? 8. Of the muscles? 
9. Of the stomach and intestines? 10. Of the heart? n. Of 
the lungs? 12. Name some other organs of the body and tell 
what they do. 13. Give some of the great laws of health. 
14. What will happen to us if we break these laws? 

Suggestions and topics for development: Develop the idea of 
the interdependence of the body parts. Use the fable of the hands 
that grew tired of seeking food for the lazy stomach, but found that 
when the stomach was not supplied with food, the hands and all 
the other parts of the body became weak and helpless. 


CHAPTER THREE 

FOODS AND THEIR USES IN THE BODY 



Figs. 4, 5, and 6. Foods furnish the body with building material, 
heat, and strength. 


When a person goes without food for more than a 
few hours, he feels hungry. This means that his 
body needs food and is calling for it. If the person 
cannot get food, he will soon become weak and his 
body will waste away. Without food we cannot 
keep our health and strength. Without food we 
cannot even live. 

Do you ever wonder why it is that you want to 
eat? Why one food is sometimes better for us than 
another food? Why a proper amount of food will 
give strength to the body and too much food will 
make the body ill? Why physicians are continually 
telling us to be careful about what we eat and in¬ 
sisting that a great part of our sickness comes from 
improper food? These questions are most impor¬ 
tant to us, and we shall therefore study foods and 
the uses that the body makes of them. 

Foods necessary for building materials. Scrape 
the skin of your arm with a knife. Do you not find 
9 


Hy—2 


















10 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


dead, dry scales on the knife? This dead material 
is all the time falling away from the skin, as parti¬ 
cles of bark drop from the outside of a tree. The 
inner parts of your body also are wasting away. Yet 
your body does not become lighter and thinner. On 
the contrary, with young persons the body grows 
larger and becomes heavier year by year. This is 
because every particle of substance that wastes 
away in heart or muscle or brain or skin is re¬ 
placed by new materials, and at the same time new 
substance is built up for making the body larger. 
This new material is formed from the food that we 
eat. One great use of food is to furnish building mate¬ 
rial to the body. 

The building foods. Among the more impor¬ 
tant building foods are lean meats, milk, and eggs. 
Bread and grains also contain large amounts of 
building materials, as do peas, beans, oats, and corn. 
These foods give the body warmth and strength, 
but their main use is to furnish material for growth 
and repair. They can do this because they are 
composed of materials like those which make up 
our bodies. Only such materials can build up our 
bodies. It would be just as sensible to try to 
mend a broken window with bricks or to repair 
a wornout engine with lumps of coal as to try 
to repair the body with materials different from 
those of which it is made. Every day we must 
eat some building food, for night and day, whether 


FOODS AND THEIR USES IN THE BODY II 

we are asleep or awake, our bodies are wearing 
away. 

Foods necessary to give heat to the body. 

The body is warmer than most of the objects around 
it. It is kept warm by the food that we eat just as 
a stove is kept warm by the wood or coal that is 
burned in it. A second use of food is to furnish heat 
for warming the body. 

Foods necessary to give strength to the body. 

You have seen a great engine driving hundreds of 
machines, or you have watched a locomotive as it 
flew across the country pulling a train behind it. 
An engine gets its power to work from the coal that 
is burned in it. In the same way, when you lift 
something or when you run, your body gets its 
strength and its power from the food that it uses. 
A third use of food is to give the body strength and 
power to work. 

The heating and strengthening foods. The 

second class of foods is the heating and strengthen¬ 
ing foods. These are the foods that contain the 
starches and sugars, the fats and the oils. We take 
sugar into the body mainly in fruits and in the foods 
to which we add it to improve the taste. Molasses, 
honey, syrups, and other sweet foods also contain 
large amounts of sugar. 

Starch forms more than three fifths of our food. 
We eat it mainly in potatoes and in the foods made 
from grains — wheat bread, corn bread, macaroni, 


12 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


rice, and breakfast foods. Some starch is found 
also in such vegetables as,turnips and cabbages. 

The fats we get chiefly in meats and in butter 
and milk. We also get fat in food cooked with lard 
or cotton-seed oil and a little fat in fruits and 



Fig. 7. We should eat plain, substantial foods that will supply 
the body’s needs and keep it in health. We should learn in youth 
to eat these foods, for to a great extent we carry through life the 
habits of eating that we form when we are young. 

vegetables. From a pound of fat or oil the body 
gets twice as much heat and strength as it gets 
from a pound of any other kind of food. 

Selecting foods that will supply all the body 
needs. We should eat some building foods and some 
heating and strengthening foods, so that all the 
needs of the body may be supplied. Some persons 
eat so much meat that their bodies have more build¬ 
ing material than they can use, while at the same 
time they have very little starch and sugar. Some 






FOODS AND THEIR USES IN THE BODY 13 

persons dislike fat meats and butter and take only a 
little fat in their food. It is believed that these per¬ 
sons are more liable to certain diseases, especially 
to consumption, than are persons who eat a reason¬ 
able amount of fat. A few persons seem able to live 
and keep in health on nuts and fruits, but these 
foods do not contain enough building material for 
most persons. Eating too much meat, not eating 
enough fat, and not eating enough building mate¬ 
rial are the three most common mistakes in selecting 
foods. 

Learning to eat many different kinds of foods. 

Nearly all of us like the things that we eat as chil¬ 
dren, and to a large extent we keep through life the 
habits of eating formed when we are young. You 
should therefore eat many different kinds of foods 
and learn to like them, and guard against falling into 
the habit of eating only a few things and refusing 
to taste anything else. 

Questions: 1. Name the first use of foods to the body. 
2. Why must the body have building materials? 3. Name 
the more important building foods. 4. Give two other uses 
of foods in the body. 5. What materials do these foods 
contain? 6. Name some foods that contain starch. 7. 
Name some foods that contain sugar. 8. Name the foods 
from which we obtain fat. 9. For what is fat especially 
valuable in the body? 10. Name some common mistakes 
that people make in selecting their food. 

Suggestions and topics for development : Whether an animal 
that stays outdoors in the winter or one that is kept in a warm stable 


14 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


needs more food, and why. The kind of food eaten by the inhabit¬ 
ants of cold countries, and why. The kind of foods needed in es¬ 
pecially large amounts by growing animals and children. Where a 
chick in an egg gets the lime for building its skeleton. The minerals 
needed by the body and where they are obtained. How food is 
stored in the body. Why a person is thin after sickness. What a 
frog or a bear lives on while it is sleeping through the winter. Why 
a person who is doing hard work needs large amounts of food. 

The teacher should learn as much as possible about the eating 
habits of the pupils, and if any of them are given to eating large 
quantities of sweets or lean meats, or are falling into other errors of 
diet, they should have clearly presented to them the fact that the 
body demands a balanced ration and that it will not receive such a 
ration from a diet of this sort. 

The teacher who understands chemistry will find profit in reading 
Chittenden’s The Nutrition of Man, published by Frederick A. 
Stokes Company, New York. 



CHAPTER FOUR 


BUYING FOODS 



Fig. 8. Showing the comparative amounts of building material 
that a given sum of money will buy in different foods. 


During a strike in Chicago a poor woman spent 
her last ten cents for lettuce to feed her hungry 
family. If she had bought dried beans, she would 
have had seventy-one times as much food for the 
same money; or by spending five cents for bread 
and five cents for milk she could have taken home 
to her children forty-one times as much nourish¬ 
ment. She did not understand that the body must 
have a certain amount of building material and a 
certain amount of food for heat and strength, and 
that the various food materials are not equally 
valuable for these purposes. She had not learned 
that in mutton a pound of building material costs 
$1.50, while in corn meal it can be bought for 27 
























16 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


cents; that the amount of heating and strengthen¬ 
ing material that can be bought in sugar for 6 cents 
costs 54 cents in cabbage; that the amount of fat 
that can be bought in fat salt pork for io cents costs 
in butter 6i cents; that one pound of oatmeal will 
give as much heat and strength as seventeen pounds 
of tomatoes or nearly seven pounds of bananas. 

How to select foods. It is often a mistake to buy 
beefsteak at twenty-five cents a pound when for 
half the money cheaper cuts of meat can be bought 
that will give as much nourishment or even more. 
A man who does hard work must have a great deal 
of the food that gives strength. It is not necessary 
for him to get his strength from expensive foods like 
meat and eggs when he can get the same strength 
at much less cost from bread and potatoes. With 
only a small amount of money a housekeeper can 
provide good food for her family by finding out what 
cheap foods will supply the necessary building ma¬ 
terial and strength, and then learning how to cook 
these foods so that they will be pleasant to the taste 
and will agree with the digestion. 

The tables on pages 15 and 17 show the amount 
of building material and of heat-giving and strength¬ 
giving material in some common foods, and the cost 
of these materials in the different foods. 

Questions: 1. What mistake do people often make in 
buying their food? 2. From the table on page 15 name 
some foods that contain large amounts of building material. 


BUYING FOODS 


1 7 
□ 


Corn meal 


Oat meal 


Sugar 


Dried beans 


White bread 

I 

Rice 

■ :i 


White potatoes 


Peanuts 


Butter 


Prunes 


Building material Heating and strengthening'material 

Fig. 9 . Showing the comparative amounts of nourishment that a 
given sum of money will buy in different foods. 
























PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


18 

3. Name some foods that are valuable for giving heat and 
strength to the body. 4. Name some foods that are valu¬ 
able for building material as well as for heat and strength. 
5. What do potatoes supply to the body? 6. What food 
could a person eat with potatoes to give his body building 
material, heat, and strength? 7. If a person lives on fruits 
and vegetables, what does his body lack? 8. From the 
tables on pages 15 and 17 select a number of foods which 
furnish building materials at a low price. 9. Select some 
foods that will furnish heat and strength to the body at a 
low price. 10. Select foods that will furnish both building 
materials and heat and strength at a low price, n. Which 
should you consider the cheapest food in the list on page 17? 
12. The most expensive? 

Suggestions and topics for development : The value of break 
fast foods; not a substitute for other foods, but an agreeable 
addition to the regular diet. Discuss with the pupils the nutritive 
value of commonly used foods. Many American families are under¬ 
fed, and the pupils should be made to understand the possibility of 
supplying the needs of the body with low priced foods. Keep in 
mind the value of those foods that enable us to eat with them large 
quantities of other cheap foods like bread. 

Obtain from the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., Far¬ 
mers’ Bulletin No. 391, on the Economical Use of Meat in the 
Home. In the Appendix to Ritchie’s Human Physiology (the third 
book of this series) the analyses and costs of a number of foods are 
given. A very complete list of the analyses and comparative costs 
of foods will be found in Bulletin No. 28 of the United States 
Department of Agriculture. This may be obtained by sending 
five cents to the Superintendent of Public Documents, Washington, 
D. C. 


CHAPTER FIVE 

COOKING FOODS 

It would be hard to think of an article of food more 
pleasant to the taste and more certain to agree with 
the digestion than warm, 
crisp, brown toast, made 
from light, well-baked 
bread. It would be hard 
to think of an article of food 
more disagreeable to the 
taste and more ruinous to 
the health than rolls baked 
only until the outer part is 
slightly browned while the 
inner part of each roll is 
still a sticky, doughy mass. 

Yet the toast and the rolls 
are made from the same 
materials. The difference is in the way they are 
cooked. 

The importance of well-cooked food. It has 

been said that the greatest difference between the 
food of the rich and the food of the poor is in the 
cooking. There is much truth in this, for to a very 
considerable extent we all live on the same foods. 
It would take a whole book to discuss fully the 
subject of cooking, and we cannot attempt to do this 
here. There are, however, two points in regard to 
cooking that are so important that every one should 
understand them. 



Fig. io. This man’s work is 
so important that he some¬ 
times receives a larger salary 
than is usually paid a lawyer, 
doctor, minister, or teacher. 










20 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


The cooking of starchy foods. Raw starch 
is in little hard grains that are digested very slowly. 
When placed in hot water, these grains swell up into 
a soft mass. This softened starch can then be 
easily digested. Oatmeal or com meal that has been 
cooked for only a short time is very difficult to di¬ 
gest, but if these foods are placed in a double boiler 
and cooked for several hours they are very easy to 
digest. Thoroughly baked bread is the “staff of 
life,” and every healthy person can digest it. But 
half-baked bread, with the starch grains in it al¬ 
most as hard as little bits of wood, is ruinous to the 
digestion of any one who is forced to eat it. Vege¬ 
tables like potatoes, turnips, and cabbages are val¬ 
uable chiefly for the starch that is in them, and they 
should be cooked until they become soft and the 
starch grains in them are broken up. 

The use of fats in cooking. Fat is a most val¬ 
uable heating and strengthening food, but, like every 
other food, it may injure the body if it is taken in a 
wrong way or in too large amounts. When fat has 
been made very hot, as often happens when food is 
fried, acids that injure the stomach are formed in it. 
Also, when foods are coated with fat, the digestive 
juices cannot get at them and they are digested very 
slowly. For this reason many foods are much 
harder to digest when fried than when cooked in 
other ways. Greasy crullers, pancakes, fried pies, 
and other fried foods are injuring the digestive or- 


COOKING FOODS 


21 


gans of many people, and the health of many families 
would improve at once if their frying pans were 
thrown away. 

Questions : I. Why should starchy foods be well cooked? 
2. Name some starchy foods. 3. What injurious sub¬ 
stances are formed in fat when it is heated very hot ? 
4. Why are fried foods harder to digest than foods that are 
cooked in other ways? 

Suggestions and topics for development: One teacher who 
has come to the attention of the writers of this book has done much 
for the community in which she is working by discussing with the 
girls of her school the best ways of cooking different foods, bringing 
samples of her own cooking to school and having the girls do the 
same, and in general by showing that she is interested in the best 
methods of preparing foods for use. Many good books on the sub¬ 
ject may be obtained and there are persons in every locality whose 
methods of cooking are worthy of study and imitation by others. 
It is not necessary for a teacher to wait for a department of domes¬ 
tic science before making a beginning in this work, and the fact that 
the teacher considers the subject of sufficient importance to re¬ 
ceive serious consideration will in itself have a most wholesome 
effect on the mental attitudes of the pupils. Discuss methods of 
cooking some of the cheaper foods so that they will be acceptable 
substitutes for those that are more expensive. Farmers’ Bulletins 
from the United States Department of Agriculture that will be 
found useful are No. 34 on Meats: Composition and Cooking; 
No. 112 on Bread and Bread Making; No. 256 on the Preparation 
of Vegetables for the Table; No. 359 on Canning Vegetables in 
the Home. These Bulletins will be sent without cost to anyone 
who applies for them. 


CHAPTER SIX 

CARING FOR FOODS 



Fig. ii. Foods should be kept away from the hands of the public 
and from dust and flies. 


If a piece of meat is left in a warm place, it will 
soon spoil. But if it is thoroughly cooked and 
tightly sealed up in a can, it will keep for years. Or 
if it is placed where it will remain frozen, it will not 
decay. Every fisherman or farmer knows that salt 
helps to keep fish or meat from spoiling, and the 
housekeeper puts sugar in her fruits to keep them 
from souring, or to “preserve” them. 

What is it that causes food to spoil? Why is it 
that food will keep if it is canned, or frozen, or 
heavily salted, or preserved in sugar? What must 
we do with our foods when we want to keep them 
from spoiling and becoming unfit for use? 

Spoiling of food caused by bacteria. Spoil¬ 
ing and souring of food are caused by bacteria . 
These are plants so very small that we can see them 

only with a microscope. Some kinds of bacteria 

22 











































CARING FOR FOODS 


23 


are able to grow in our bodies and cause sickness. 
These kinds we call disease germs. Many kinds of 
bacteria that do not cause disease can grow in our 
foods and cause the foods to spoil so that they be¬ 
come unfit for use. The important thing in the care 
of foods is to keep bacteria from growing in them. 

Keeping bacteria out of food by cleanliness. 
We give bacteria a chance to get into food by allow¬ 
ing dust to blow into it; by allowing flies to crawl 
over it; by allowing mice, rats, and roaches to run 
about in pantries; by keeping the food in dirty ves¬ 
sels; by washing it with dirty water; by handling 
it with unclean hands; and 
in general by failing to 
keep it clean. Cleanliness is 
the first great point in caring 
for food , since it keeps bacteria 
from getting into the food. 

Keeping bacteria from 
growing in foods by cold. 

Bacteria grow very slowly 
in foods that are kept cold, 
and by keeping foods cold 
we can do much to keep them 
from spoiling. Do not leave 
in a warm kitchen milk, 
meats, cooked fruits, or 
other foods that will spoil, but put them at once into 
a refrigerator with plenty of ice. If ice cannot be 



kept in a refrigerator, and 
there should always be 
enough ice in the refrigera¬ 
tor to keep the food cold. 





























24 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


obtained, food should be bought or cooked only as it 
can be used, for spoiled food is unfit for use. Cold 
is the second great point in the care of foody since it 
keeps bacteria from growing in the food. 

Killing the bacteria in food with heat. Cook¬ 
ing food kills the bacteria in it and for a time 
keeps the food from spoiling. Milk vessels and other 
vessels in which food is kept should be scalded with 
hot water before they are used. If this is not done, 
great numbers of bacteria will get into the food 
from the vessels and will quickly cause it to spoil. 

Keeping disease germs out of foods. Persons 
who are sick and persons who are caring for the sick 
often have dangerous disease germs on their hands. 
It is never safe for these persons to handle food, for 
if the germs get from their hands into the food other 
people are likely to catch the disease. No one who 
has consumption or who has lately had typhoid fever 
should have anything to do with the handling of food. 

All foods should be carefully guarded from flies, 
for the fly is a great carrier of dangerous germs. 
It need hardly be said that foods that have been 
handled in an unclean way, or foods that have been 
fingered over and handled by the public, are far more 
likely to have disease germs in them than foods that 
have been kept clean. 

The danger in using food preservatives. 

There are many acids and other substances that will 
prevent the growth of bacteria in milk and other 


CARING FOR FOODS 


2 5 

foods, and will keep the foods from spoiling. Some 
of these are sold in drugstores or by agents and are 
used by housekeepers, especially in canning fruits. 
Though some of these substances are harmless, it 
has been proved that others are poisonous, and their 
use in foods offered for sale is forbidden by law. 

Questions : i. What causes foods to spoil? 2. What are 
bacteria? 3. How can food be kept from spoiling? 4. 
Mention some ways by which bacteria get into food. 5. 
What is the first great point in caring for food? 6. Why do 
foods keep longer when they are kept cold? 7. Where 
should foods be kept? 8. What is the second great point 
in the care of foods? 9. How can the bacteria in foods be 
killed? 10. How can the germs on milk vessels and food 
vessels be killed? n. Why should this be done? 12. How 
do disease germs often get into food? 13. Is it wise or un¬ 
wise to use food preservatives? 

Suggestions and topics for development: The importance of 
proper care of food and food receptacles. Fill small, clean bottles 
or jars with milk or cooked fruits. Keep one in a warm room, the 
other in the coldest place possible. Let the children notice which 
sours first. When both have become sour, empty the bottles, scald 
one carefully, rinse the other with cold water, and refill. Put them 
away together and let the children watch for signs of souring. 

Good and bad methods of caring for milk. The importance of 
keeping free from germs the milk given to a baby. The care of 
school lunches. Foods purchased by school children that are likely 
to contain large numbers of bacteria. Practical methods of keep¬ 
ing flies out of a kitchen. How to destroy flies and cockroaches. 
Obtain from the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., 
Farmers’ Bulletins 155, How Insects Affect Health; 74, Milk as a 
Food; and 375, Care of Food in the Home. These are free. Many 
practical suggestions for the care of foods will be found in them. 
Hy—3 


CHAPTER SEVEN 

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS AND THEIR WORK 

Suppose that you are hungry and hold a piece of 

bread in your hand. Your brain, your muscles, and 

all the parts of your 

body need the bread 

to nourish them. How 

can you get the bread 

to them? By eating 

it, of course. It may 

seem strange that the 

way to the brain is 

down the throat, but 

nevertheless this is the 

road the food travels 

to get to the brain. 

Is a piece of bread 

as you hold it in your 
Fig. 13. The alimentary canal. . . . J . 

hand ready to be used 

by the different parts of the body? Where does it go 

after you eat it and what happens to it? We speak 

about digesting our food, but what do we mean by 

digestion? We hear people talk about having trouble 

with their digestive organs. What organs are these, 

where are they, what do they do? What difference 

does it make to us if they do get out of order? In 

this chapter we shall find the answers to some of 

these questions. 

Where the food goes after it is eaten. After 
the food is eaten, it passes from the. mouth back- 

26 



The digestive organs and their work 


wards into the throat and then into the esophagus. 
At the lower end of the esophagus it enters the 
stomach, and from the stomach it passes on into the 
small intestine and the large intestine. This long 
passageway into which the food is taken in the body 
is called the alimentary canal. 

Other digestive organs. The three pairs of 
salivary glands , the liver , and the pancreas help in 
the process of digestion by pouring juices into the 
alimentary canal. The salivary glands lie under the 
tongue, under the back corners of the lower jaw, and 
in front of and below the 
ears. Each gland is a small 
structure that forms saliva 
and empties it into the mouth 
through a little tube or duct. 

The liver is found in the 
right side of the body oppo¬ 
site the stomach. From it a 1 
bitter liquid called the bile 
flows into the small intestine. 

The pancreas is a long, flat 
organ that lies below the 
stomach. It sends a juice 
into the small intestine that does a most important 
work in the digestion of the food. 

The food dissolved during digestion. The 
food that we eat goes into the stomach in a dough- 
like mass. Before it can be used by the body, it 



Fig. 14. The salivary glands. 


28 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


must soak through the wall of the intestine and get 
into the blood. In order to get through this wall, 
the food must be dissolved. The saliva in the 
mouth and the juices in the stomach and intestine 
act on the foods in such a way as to dissolve them. 
The process of dissolving the foods is called digestion , 
and no solid food can get into the blood until it has 
been digested. 



The story of digestion. Let us imagine that 
we can see the food after it has been eaten and that we 
are watching it while it is being digested. In the 
mouth we find the teeth sliding over each other, 
grinding up the food and mixing it with the saliva. 
The bread and other starchy foods begin to dissolve 
in the saliva and the process of digestion is thus begun. 

The food is then carried down into the stomach 
where from the walls all about the gastric juice is 



THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS AND THEIR WORK 


29 


trickling in. This juice attacks the meats and other 
building foods. Under its action the outer layers of 
the food mass are eaten away and slide on in a half 
liquid condition through the gateway into the 
intestine. 

As the food enters the small intestine, a flood of 
digestive juices are poured over it. Greenish yellow 
bile comes from the liver, great quantities of a thin 
watery juice is sent in by the pancreas, and from all 
along the more than twenty feet of small intestine 
juices are poured out by the thousands of little glands 
that are in the wall. As the foods pass along they 
slowly dissolve in all these juices, leaving the solid, 
indigestible wastes floating in the liquid stream. 

But as we follow the food in this part of its course, 
we notice that the liquid becomes less and less in 
amount,—that only the solid wastes remain. As some 
desert rivers run out over the sand and lose them¬ 
selves in their own channels, so the stream of liquid 
food is vanishing away. Where is it going? It is 
soaking into the wall of the intestine and passing into 
the millions of little blood streams that are in the wall. 
What will become of it? It will be carried through 
all the body to furnish heat and strength. It will be 
built into bone and muscle and nerve; for as a water¬ 
fall, even though it keeps the same form, is com¬ 
posed of rapidly passing water, so our bodies, that 
seem to us to be the same year by year, are composed 
of materials that are ever shifting. The skin that 


3 o PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

we have to-day will in a short time be dead and gone, 
and the food that we eat to-day will be built into a 
new skin. The flesh and heart and brain of the ox is 
built of grass, and the human body is built of the 
food that we eat. 

The refuse matter in the large intestine. In 

all food there is some indigestible material like the 



Fig. 16. The lining of the small intestine is thickly covered 
with little finger-like structures, called villi. The digested food 
is absorbed into the blood vessels that are in these structures. 
The picture shows villi highly magnified. 

woody parts of turnips and cabbages, the skins of 
fruits, and the tough fibers of meats. This matter 
spends from ten to twenty hours in its journey through 
the small intestine and then passes on into the large 
intestine. It is most important that this refuse 
material from the food be cleared out of the body 
every day, and not allowed to lie in the intestine to 
ferment and to poison the whole body. 














THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS AND THEIR WORK 31 

The importance of caring for the digestive 
organs. The work of digesting the food is so impor¬ 
tant that the organs that do this work fill nearly the 
whole cavity of the body. “It is not what we eat but 
what we digest that makes us strong.” This is an old 
saying, and it is a true one. We cannot have strong 
bodies if we do not have healthy digestive organs 
to prepare food for them. In the next chapter we 
shall study some ways of keeping the digestive organs 
in health. 

Questions: Name the different parts of the ali¬ 

mentary canal.. 2. Name some other digestive organs. 3. 
What do the digestive juices do to the foods during digestion? 
4. Tell the story of the digestion of the food in the alimentary 
canal. 5. Where does the food go after it has been digested? 
6. How is it used in the body? 7. What part of the food 
that we eat remains in the alimentary canal? 8. Why is it 
so important that this matter be cleared out of the intestine 
every day? 9. Why is it important for us to care for our 
digestive organs? 

Suggestions and topics for development : Where the gastric 
juice comes from, and what habits the pupils have that may inter¬ 
fere with the flow of it. The injury to health resulting from 
constipation. 

Illustrate absorption by showing how salt or sugar dissolved in 
water will pass through a paper. Show digestion by putting a cube 
of hard boiled white of egg into a glass of water with a few drops of 
acid and a little pepsin. The lining of a calf’s stomach dried and 
pulverized may be used instead of pepsin. Prepare materials in 
another glass in the same way, but first cut the egg into fine pieces 
to show the advantages of thoroughly chewing food. Set both 
glasses in a warm place (about 100 degrees is best) for a few hours. 


CHAPTER EIGHT 

KEEPING THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS IN HEALTH 



To a great extent life is colored by the way the di¬ 
gestive organs do their work. One man has a good 
digestion, and he sees sun¬ 
shine and success before 
him. Another is afflicted 
with dyspepsia, and he ex¬ 
pects to meet only clouds 
and failure on his way. 
Truly one might almost 
be led to think that the 
mind is in the stomach 
and not in the brain, for 
we look at the whole world 
through rose-colored or 
Fig. 17T William Ewart Glad- blue glasses according to 
stone, who was called “England’s wa y we succeed in 

Grand Old Man.” He believed .. . - 

that his vigorous old age was in digesting what we eat. 
large part due to his habit of In most cases, troubles 
cutting his food into small pieces of ^ digestive organs are 
and chewing it thoroughly. 0 0 

brought on gradually by 
improper habits of eating, and in youth every one 
has it largely in his own power to decide whether 
he will go into later life with dyspepsia, or with 
digestive organs that can do their work. In this 
chapter we shall learn something about caring for 
these organs, but you must understand that knowing 
hygienic rules will not improve your health if you 
do not put these rules into practice. It will do you 
32 


KEEPING DIGESTIVE ORGANS IN HEALTH 33 

no good to understand about the benefits that come 
from thoroughly chewing your food if you swallow 
your lunch down in large masses, and if you take 
alcoholic drinks into your stomach the delicate lining 
of the stomach will not be protected by anything 
you have read in a book. It requires doing as well 
as knowing to keep the digestive organs in health. 

The importance of thoroughly chewing the 
food. People who make it a rule to chew every 
mouthful of food into a perfect paste find that 
their health is very greatly improved by doing so. 
Just as sugar dissolves more quickly in a glass 
of water when it is in fine grains than when it is in 
large, hard lumps, so food ground into bits by the 
teeth is digested and dissolved more quickly in the 
stomach and intestine than food that has been swal¬ 
lowed in large pieces. Thorough chewing of the food 
carries us far on the way to a good digestion, and a 
good digestion sets us well on the road to good health. 

Drinking liquids at meals. A glass of water 
taken at mealtime in small sips moistens the food 
and helps to mix the saliva thoroughly with it, thus 
causing the starch to be more quickly digested. 
Water taken in larger amounts hinders digestion, 
especially if the food is washed down without being 
properly chewed. The water should not be ice cold, 
because cold drinks chill the stomach and hinder 
digestion. Coffee and tea hinder the work of the 
saliva, and these drinks should be used sparingly 


34 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


by every one and should be avoided entirely by 
those who have trouble in digesting starchy foods. 

Eating too much at one time. Another fre¬ 
quent cause of indigestion is eating too much. 

Do not overload your 
stomach by giving it more 
food than it can digest for 
hours, for if you do the 
food will sour in your 
stomach and you will 
suffer. 

Eating a whole meal 
of one kind of food. 

Sometimes we find a child 

who wants to make a 

lost his health through indigestion whole meal of chicken 
and regained it by attention to his * 

diet. (From December , 1908, Cos- green peas, Syrup, Cake, 

mopohtan). strawberries, or some 

other article of food that he particularly likes. Eat¬ 
ing in this way throws all the work upon one of the 
digestive juices while the other juices are idle. This 
makes the work of digestion go on very slowly, 
and the food has time to ferment and sour before 
digestion is finished. 

Eating at irregular times. Our digestive organs 
are ready to digest a meal at the time at which we 
usually eat. Therefore one should not eat dinner at 
twelve o'clock one day and at two o'clock the next 
day. Do not get so busy at your play that you do 








KEEPING DIGESTIVE ORGANS IN HEALTH 35 

not have time to eat, and do not form the habit of 
eating between meals or whenever you can get some¬ 
thing that you like to eat. Have regular hours for 
your meals and give your digestive organs a chance 
to rest between meals, for they need time for rest 
just as much as your muscles do. 

Indigestible lunches. Many persons, among them 
many school children, are ruining their digestions 
by the kind of lunches that they eat. They are not 
able to be at home for the noonday meal, and in¬ 
stead of eating a sensible, nourishing lunch, they 
load their digestive organs with candy, chocolate, 
pickles, olives, pie, cake, bananas, peanuts, ice 
cream, soda fountain drinks, or almost anything 
else they like and can get. 

This is the wrong way to select a lunch, and the 
person who follows this plan must suffer. Candy 
probably does more harm than any other of 
these foods. It is composed chiefly of sugar, and 
when taken in small amounts and with other foods 
it is very nourishing. But the person who eats a 
whole bag of candy at one time treats his stomach 
about as unwisely as if he should drink a whole 
cupful of thick sugar syrup at once. 

Coarse foods necessary to the health. The 
body needs a considerable quantity of such foods as 
wheat bread, corn bread, potatoes, cabbages, tur¬ 
nips, and other foods that have large amounts of 
tough refuse matter in them. These bulky mate- 


36 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


rials cause the wastes to be more promptly moved 
along the large intestine. This is very necessary, 
for if the wastes are allowed to lie in the large in¬ 
testine bacteria will grow in them and form poisons. 
These poisons will then soak through the wall of the 
intestine into the blood, poisoning the whole body 



Fig. 19. Outdoor life and exercise are very important in keeping 
the digestive organs in health. 


and causing headaches. Those who live upon the 
choicest and most expensive foods have health little, 
if any, better than have those who live on the plain¬ 
est and simplest fare. Probably the principal reason 
for this is that those who live on a plain diet get more 
of the coarser kinds of food and the wastes are more 
promptly moved along through the intestine. 

Alcohol injurious to the digestive organs. 
Beer, wine, and whiskey contain alcohol, and they 




KEEPING DIGESTIVE 0 EGA NS IN HEALTH 37 


are all injurious to the digestive organs, even when 
they are taken in small amounts. They injure the 
stomach especially and interfere with its work, so 
that hard masses of food pass undigested into the in¬ 
testine. Bacteria then grow in this food and form 
poisons that are carried through the body. Alcohol 
is also the chief cause of diseases of the liver. 

Questions: i. Why is it important to keep the digestive 
organs in health? 2. By what are digestive troubles usually 
caused? 3. What must we do in order to get any benefit 
from the study of rules of hygiene? 4. What effect on 
digestion has thorough chewing of the food? 5. Why should 
water be taken at meals? 6. What harm will a glassful of 
water do if it is all taken at one time? 7. What is the best 
rule to follow in the use of tea or coffee? 8. Why cannot we 
eat enough food at one time to supply us all day? 9. Why 
should every meal be made up of several kinds of food? 
10. Why should we eat at regular hours every day? n. 
What are some foods that should not be taken for lunch? 
12. Of what is candy chiefly made? 13. Why should one 
eat only a small amount of candy at one time? 14. Why 
are coarse foods necessary? 15. What effect has alcohol on 
the digestive organs? 16. What is the best rule to follow 
in regard to the use of alcoholic drinks? 

Suggestions and topics for development : The life and teach¬ 
ings of Horace Fletcher. Healthful school lunches. Necessity 
for the leisurely eating of school lunches. Soda fountain drinks. 
Outdoor life and exercise as a preventive of constipation. 


CHAPTER NINE 

THE CARE OF THE TEETH 

The mouth cavity has been called the Gateway of 
Life, and the care of the mouth may well be called 

f the Gateway of Health. Horace 
enamel Fletcher has said that “ the whole 
problem of nutrition is settled in 
cavity t ^ ie fi rst th ree inches of the ali¬ 
mentary canal,” and there is far 
more truth in this than most per¬ 
sons realize. All about us are 
persons who pay a great deal of 
Fig. 20. The attention to the purity of their 
structure of a food. Yet the teeth of many of 
tooth ' these persons are so unclean and so 

decayed that they cannot chew a single bite of food 
without filling it with millions of bacteria. It is 
hardly worth while to take care of food for a 
person who is going to spoil every particle of it 
before he swallows it, and the health of the nation 
demands that the people have a better understand¬ 
ing of the importance of the teeth. 

The importance of caring for the teeth. In the 
German army the teeth and toothbrushes of the 
soldiers are inspected each morning as regularly as 
the guns are inspected. In the United States army 
a man is not accepted as a soldier unless his teeth 
are in good condition. Some German life insurance 
companies employ dentists to care for the teeth of 
their policy holders, because they find it is cheaper 
38 




THE CARE OF THE TEETH 39 

to do this than to pay for the sickness and deaths 
that are caused by bad teeth. Medical inspection 
of 275,000 school children in New York City showed 
that more than one half of them had teeth that 
needed treatment, while dental inspection made 
of the public school children in Boston and in 
Cleveland showed that from 95 to 97 per cent of 
the children had teeth needing attention. 

Unclean and decaying teeth a cause of ill health. 
Unclean teeth and decaying teeth form a breed¬ 
ing place for millions of bacteria of many differ¬ 
ent kinds. These bacteria become mixed with the 
food while it is being chewed, and all day they 
are passing down the throat in streams. In the 
stomach and intestine they ferment and sour the 
food, and in this way seriously .interfere with the 
health of the body. Decaying teeth and sore gums 
also cause people to swallow their food without 
chewing it properly, and we have already learned 
how ruinous this is to the health. It is believed 
also that bad teeth are a cause of adenoids (page 59) 
and of trouble in the nose. 

Unclean teeth and bad teeth a cause of germ 
diseases. Bad teeth and unclean teeth cause germ 
diseases in two ways. In the first place, they inter¬ 
fere with the digestion and weaken the body, so 
that if disease germs get into the body we are not 
able to resist them. One of the first things to do in 
the treatment of a consumptive is to get the teeth 


40 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


in good condition, so that the food will nourish the 
body and build up the strength. In the second 
place, unclean and decaying teeth furnish a splendid 


place for any disease germs 
that get into the mouth and 
multiply until a time comes 
when the body is weak 
enough for them to attack 
it. Just how often disease 
germs do this is not known, 
but it is known that pneu¬ 
monia germs are in the 
mouths of many people; 
that the diphtheria germ 
sometimes lives for a long 
time in the mouths of per¬ 
sons who do not have the 
disease; that the same 




Fig. 21. Teeth like these are germs that cause sore gums, 

a cause of indigestion and fur- abscesses in the mouth, and 
nish a place for the growth of . 

i n f nn f nnf h n lorv 


decay in the teeth, also 
cause tonsillitis, sore throat, 


disease germs. 


and appendicitis; that certain other disease germs, 
including the germ of consumption, have been found 
in unclean mouths; and that these germs die out 
more quickly in a clean mouth than in an unclean 
one. There is, therefore, no reason to doubt that 
bad teeth are a cause not only of indigestion but of 
many other forms of disease. 




THE CARE OF THE TEETH 


41 



Decay of the teeth caused by failure to keep 
them clean. Decay of the teeth is caused by bac¬ 
teria growing in the food materials that stick to the 
teeth and lodge between them. Clearly, then, the 
way to keep the teeth from decaying is to keep them 
clean. They ought to be cleaned 
every time they are used, just as our 
dishes are washed every time they are 
used. To keep them sound they 
ought at least to be washed after 
breakfast and before going to bed, 
while washing the teeth (and the 
tongue and gums as well) before 
breakfast saves the digestive organs Fig 22 '~~Xnum- 
from the millions of bacteria that ber of tooth- 

have grown in the mouth during the brushes in the 
. same holder bring 

night. In cleaning the teeth, brush together a choice 

them thoroughly both inside and out, c o 1 le c t i o n of 
and brush them downwards rather brush” should be 
than sidewise. A moderately stiff kept in a separate 
brush should be used, even though the holder - 
gums bleed, for the gums need the exercise. A tooth 
powder or tooth paste is a great help in getting the 
teeth clean. It is very important to remove food 
from between the teeth, for decay nearly always 
begins in the places where the food lodges. Sore 
gums can usually be cured by keeping the teeth clean. 

Bad teeth a cause of decay in other teeth. As 
germs from a case of diphtheria may spread through 

Hy—4 


42 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


a whole classroom and cause the disease in every 
child in the room, so germs may spread from a cavity 
in a tooth and cause decay in other teeth. We should 
therefore watch for decayed teeth and have them 
attended to promptly, because a single neglected 
tooth may cause the decay of many others. 

Visiting the dentist. When a tooth begins to 
decay, it should be filled by a dentist at once. The 
sooner this is done the better, for it costs less to fill 
a small cavity than a large one, it causes less pain, 
it leaves the tooth in better condition, and it may 
save the other teeth from decay. A tooth should 
not be extracted if it can be saved, for the loss of 
one tooth affects the grinding power of four others. 
No bridgework or artificial teeth can do the work 
of the natural teeth in chewing the solid food that 
we ought to eat. Every one should have his teeth 
looked over by a dentist once or twice a year, have 
them cleaned if they need it, and have any small 
cavities filled. Just as it is better and cheaper to 
prevent sickness than to try to cure it, so it is better 
to keep the teeth sound than to try to repair them 
after they decay, or to replace them after they 
are gone. “It is better to take pains than to have 
pains take you.”. 

The danger of breaking the enamel. The ex¬ 
posed part of a tooth is covered with a layer of very 
hard, glistening, white material called enamel. This 
is brittle like glass, and can be easily chipped and 


THE CARE OF THE TEETH 43 

broken. If the enamel of a tooth is once broken off, 
it is never replaced, and the tooth is likely to de¬ 
cay. Biting on hard objects like nuts, opening a 
knife blade with the teeth, picking the teeth with a 
pin or metal toothpick, and similar habits, should 
be avoided, as they are likely to splinter the enamel. 

Caring for the first set of teeth. The first 
set of teeth need the care of a dentist as much as the 
second set. Toothache hurts every one alike; swal¬ 
lowing the food without properly chewing it is harm¬ 
ful to young as well as old people, and bacteria from 
a decayed tooth passing down the throat injure a 
child as much as they do an older person. If cav¬ 
ities in the teeth of the first set are not filled, the 
decay may spread to the teeth of the second set as 
they come in. If the first teeth are pulled, the jaws 
sometimes fail to grow as they should, and for lack 
of space the second teeth may come in crowded and 
uneven. Another important reason for keeping the 
first set of teeth sound is to prevent the child from 
forming the habit of swallowing his food unchewed. 

Straightening irregular teeth. Because of breath¬ 
ing through the mouth, thumb-sucking, insufficient 
use in chewing, or for other reasons, the teeth some¬ 
times come in crooked. This not only makes them 
less useful than they should be in chewing the food, 
but spoils the appearance of the face. Wonders in 
straightening the teeth can be done by a dentist who 
understands this kind of work. Not only can ir- 


44 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


regular teeth be straightened, but the crowded teeth 
of a young person can be spread apart, and the 
bones of the jaw be made to grow until the teeth 
have room. In this way a weak-looking chin can be 
made to grow into one that is square and strong. 



Figs. 23 and 24. A boy whose teeth need straightening, and 
the same boy several years after the straightening was done. 
Not only were his teeth made more useful, but the lower jaw 
grew until the appearance of the lower part of the face was 
changed. Notice how the weak chin developed into one of 
strength and firmness. {After photographs in The Popular 
Science Monthly for July , 1909.) 


The advantage of having good teeth. Good 
teeth are important from the standpoint of health, 
but there are still other good reasons why you should 
keep your teeth white and clean. See how many of 
these reasons you can give. 


Questions : 1 . Mention some facts that show how impor¬ 
tant the teeth are. 2. Tell two ways in which bad teeth 
injure the health. 3. Give two ways by which bad teeth 


THE CARE OF THE TEETH 


45 


cause germ diseases. 4. What causes decay in teeth? 5. 
How can decay be prevented? 6. How often ought the 
teeth to be cleaned? 7. Why is it important to remove 
particles of food from between the teeth? 8. What effect 
has a decaying tooth on the other teeth? 9. Tell why it 
is best to visit a dentist occasionally and have the teeth 
given the care that they need. 10. What is enamel? n. 
Mention some ways by which the enamel may be injured. 
12. What often happens if the enamel on a tooth is 
broken? 13, Why should the first set of teeth be cared for 
by a dentist? 14. What should be done with crowded and 
uneven teeth? 

Suggestions and topics for development : Why a tooth aches. 
(Illustrate structure by decayed teeth, which may be secured 
from a dentist.) How to distinguish the first permanent molar 
from a temporary tooth. What happens to meat or other food 
matter if it is left in a warm place like the mouth. How the teeth 
can be kept clean by a child who has no toothbrush. What it 
would cost to buy toothbrushes for a person for twenty years, 
and what it costs to have a badly decayed set of teeth repaired. 

Hopkins’ The Care of the Teeth (published by D. Appleton & 
Company, New York) is an excellent little book for teachers 
and parents. 


CHAPTER TEN 

THE AIR WE BREATHE 

Cato, a Roman philosopher, once said that he could 
kill himself at any time by holding his breath. Cato 
probably knew more about 
philosophy than he knew 
about physiology, for he was 
not correct in this statement. 
Try it yourself, and you will 
find that you can hardly hold 
your breath for a minute. 
Spoiled food and unclean 
water we can refuse, but the 
air that comes to us we 
must breathe, whether it be 
clear or smoky, pure or dust¬ 
laden. Nearly a thousand 
times an hour we take a 
fresh supply into the lungs. 
It is clear that no dwelling, schoolhouse, or factory 
should be built without providing some way of giving 
the people who must live or work in it a supply of 
fresh, life-giving air. 

Why the body must have air. About one fifth 
of the air is oxygen. Oxygen is constantly used in the 
body, and without it we cannot live for even five 
minutes. Set a glass vessel over a burning candle so 
that no air can get in, and you will see the flame 
slowly die out for lack of oxygen. So the heat and 
strength and life of your body will die out if its 

46 



ing that a flame cannot burn 
without oxygen. 








THE AIR WE BREATHE 


47 


opening 
of tube 
from 
the ear 


supply of oxygen is cut off. The first reason why the 
body needs air is to get oxygen. 

All the time we are breathing out from the lungs 
a gas called carbon dioxid. This gas is very poison¬ 
ous to us. We must keep breathing the air into the 
lungs in order that, as it passes out again, it may 
carry the carbon dioxid out of the body; otherwise 
the body will die. The 
second reason why we 
must have air is to get 
rid of carbon dioxid. 

The necessity for 
ventilation. Each of 
us breathes from fif¬ 
teen to nineteen cubic 
feet, or from twelve 
to fifteen bushels, of 
air every hour. Each 
cubic foot of air which 
has passed through the 
lungs is so impure that 
it makes nearly 200 
cubic feet of air unfit 
for our use. In houses, 
which are merely big 
boxes shut in so that the air inside them cannot mix 
freely with the air outside, the air is soon unfit 
for breathing, unless we can get great quantities of 
fresh air into the houses from the outside. Every 



Fig. 26. The air passages of the 
head and throat. 



48 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


hour about 3000 cubic feet of fresh air are needed 
by each person in a building, and how to get 
this air in without causing cold draughts is the 
problem of ventilation. No one can afford to 
leave the problem unsolved, for to breathe bad air 
from day to day causes one to tire easily and to 
lose strength, to become pale and dull, and, worst 
of all, gradually to lose the power to resist disease 
germs. 

Crowded buildings often overheated. It is 

probable that many of the headaches that follow 
staying in a crowded room are caused by the over¬ 
heating and the moisture of the atmosphere. At 
least, it has been found that a crowded room is much 
more comfortable if it is kept cool. In every such 
room there should be a thermometer, and the tem¬ 
perature should not be allowed to rise above 68 or 
70 degrees. 

How to obtain fresh air. Every school build¬ 
ing or other building where many people gather to¬ 
gether ought to have some system of forcing in 
fresh air and drawing off the air that has been used. 
Where this has not been provided for, we must get 
as much fresh air as possible in some other way. 
By a little experimenting, it will often be found 
that certain windows in a room can be opened 
without causing harmful draughts on any one. Open¬ 
ing several windows a little is usually a good way 
to ventilate a room. A common method is to set a 


THE AIR WE BREATHE 


49 


board under a window (as shown in Figure 27) 
while another window on the same side of the room 
is lowered from the top. Often by lowering all the 
windows slightly at the top a great deal of the hot, 
moist air in a crowded room can be got rid of with¬ 
out causing cold draughts. Schoolrooms should be 
filled with fresh air while they are empty, and at 



Fig. 27. How a fireplace and a window board help to ventilate 
a room. The arrows show which way the air is moving. 


noons and recesses the windows should be raised and 
the fresh air allowed to pour in; for no one can be 
expected either to learn his lessons or to keep his 
health in a room that is stuffy and close and filled 
with air that has already been breathed. 

Ventilating sleeping rooms. Sleeping rooms are 
harder to ventilate than living rooms, because we 
are all the while moving about through our 
living rooms, and the opening and closing of doors 

























































50 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

sets the air in motion. We spend so much of.our 
time in sleeping rooms, however, that it is of the 
greatest importance that the air in them be pure. 
Do not sleep in a room where you wake with a stuffy 
feeling in the morning, but open the windows, or 
in some other way get fresh air into your bedroom. 
Do not be afraid of night air, for long ago it was 
proved to be harmless. A 
current of fresh air will do 
no harm if your body is 
warmly covered, or if you 
are protected from a direct 
draught by a window board 
or a screen. 

Outdoor sleeping. The 

best place of all to sleep is 
out in the fresh air, where 
the impure air that comes 
from the lungs is blown 
away so that it cannot be 
breathed in again. Usually 
an upper porch is the best 
place for outdoor sleeping, 
and houses should be built 
with porches that can be used for this purpose. In 
some places these porches need to be screened from 
flies and mosquitoes. That great benefits come from 
outdoor sleeping is shown by the fact that persons 
who are sick with consumption or pneumonia often 



f||S|k 






Fig. 28. The best kind of 
sleeping room is out-of-doors. 
This one was planned when 
the house was built. In sum¬ 
mer it is screened to keep out 
flies and mosquitoes, and in 
winter it is open on three sides. 












THE AIR WE BREATHE 


51 


improve when they begin sleeping in the open 
air. 

Methods of heating and ventilation. Gas and 

oil heaters that have no pipes for carrying away the 
gases give off great volumes of impurities; and to 
heat a sleeping room with one of these stoves is un¬ 
healthful. Stoves and furnaces that leak coal gas 
also are unhealthful. Fireplaces give good ventila¬ 
tion because they send a current of air up the chirm 
ney, and this draws more air into the room. In the 
same way a stove brings a little air into the room. 
Radiators bring no new air into a building, and when 
a system of heating by hot water or steam is used, 
fresh air should be let into the rooms through win¬ 
dows or ventilators. 

Questions: 1. How much of the air is oxygen? 2. Why 
must the body get rid of carbon dioxid? 3. What are the 
two reasons why the body must have air? 4. How much 
air do you breathe in a day? 5. Why must the air of our 
rooms be constantly changed? 6. How much fresh air 
does a person need every hour? 7. What are the effects 
of breathing impure air? 8. What is the most probable 
cause of the headaches that come from staying in a crowded 
room? 9. Tell how a schoolroom may be ventilated with¬ 
out causing draughts. 10. What may be done at recess to 
change the air in a room? n. Why is it hard to ventilate 
sleeping rooms? 12. Why is it important that they be well 
ventilated? 13. What is the best of all sleeping places? 
14. How is this proved? 15. What methods of heating 
bring fresh air into a house? 


CHAPTER ELEVEN 

THE LUNGS AND AIR PASSAGES AND THEIR CARE 



Of all the organs of' the body, the lungs and air 
passages are most frequently attacked by disease 
germs. Colds, catarrh, bronchitis, and grip are so 
common that no one entirely escapes them, while 
pneumonia and consumption kill thousands of per¬ 
sons every year. Yet every person can do much to 
avoid these diseases by taking a reasonable amount 
5 2 





THE LUNGS AND AIR PASSAGES 53 

of care of his breathing organs and by securing for 
himself an abundance of fresh air. We have learned 
some ways by which we may secure pure air; now 
we are going to learn how to care for the organs that 
get rid of carbon dioxid and take in oxygen for the 
body. 

The air passages. The air enters the nose 
through the nostrils and passes down into the throat 
through two openings at the back of the mouth. It 
then goes down the windpipe (trachea), which di¬ 
vides and enters the two lungs. These large branches 
of the trachea divide into smaller and smaller 
branches, as a tree divides into small limbs and 
twigs, and these smallest branches end in little air 
sacs. The lungs are mainly composed of millions of 
these little tubes and the air sacs at their ends. The 
air which we breathe passes down the windpipe and 
out through the tubes into every one of these sacs. 

The blood purified in the lungs. In the thin, 
delicate walls of the air sacs of the lungs are great 
numbers of very small blood vessels. As the blood 
passes through these vessels in fine little streams, 
it takes up oxygen from the air in the sacs and 
gives off carbon dioxid. The carbon dioxid is then 
breathed out of the body, and when the next breath 
is taken in, more oxygen is drawn down into the 
lungs. 

The danger of breathing dust. Most of the 
diseases of the air passages and lungs are germ 


54 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


diseases. Dust causes these diseases by carrying 
germs into the air passages, and also by wounding 
the walls of the air pas¬ 


sages so that germs al¬ 
ready in them may get 
a chance to start grow¬ 
ing. More than one 
fourth of all the deaths 
among the cotton-mill 
workers in Rhode 
Island from 1897 to 
1903 were caused by 
consumption; and in 
some trades, like metal 
grinding and stone cut¬ 
ting, more than one 





Fig. 30. Dust should be wiped 
from furniture, and should not be 
stirred up into the air. 


half of the workers die of diseases of the lungs. 
Facts like these show how great is the danger of 
breathing dust, and how much care should be taken 
to keep it from getting into the air that we breathe. 

Keeping down dust. The streets of cities and 
towns should be kept sprinkled, and where it is 
possible to do so, they should be cleaned by flush¬ 
ing them with water instead of by sweeping them. 
Sweeping both in schoolrooms and in private houses 
ought to be done with the windows open and 
in a way to stir up as little dust as possible. The 
best way of all to do this is with a vacuum cleaner, 
which makes it possible to get rid of the dust more 



THE LUNGS AND AIR PASSAGES 55 

completely than in any other way. Dust on furniture 
should not be stirred up into the air, but should be 
wiped off with a damp cloth (a piece of flannel soaked 
in paraffin oil is best for this purpose). Everything 
possible should be done to keep down dust, for where 



Figs. 31, 32, and 33. The best way to free a house from dust 
is with a vacuum cleaner. 


people are forced to breathe it, great numbers of them 
die from diseases of the air passages and lungs. 

The harmfulness of crowding the lungs. 
When a person sits at his desk with his shoulders 
bent over, the muscles are not able to pull the 
ribs up in breathing, as they could do if he were 
sitting erect. Also, the stomach and liver push up 
and crowd the lungs from below. This causes the 
lungs to be only partly filled with fresh air. 

The lungs can also be crowded by_ tight clothing 
about the chest, which keeps the ribs from moving 
freely; or by tight belts or other tight clothing 
about the waist, which force the liver and stomach 























56 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


upward and hinder the movements of the lungs. 
Great harm can be done to the lungs by crowding 
them in either of these ways. In another chapter 
(page 81) we shall discuss the best way of keeping 
the body erect. 

The effect of tobacco smoke on the air pas¬ 
sages and lungs. Tobacco smoke causes the lining 



Figs. 34 and 35. The figure on the left shows the natural po¬ 
sition of the bones of the trunk. The figure on the right shows 
how the ribs may be pressed in by tight clothing; the heart, 
lungs, and digestive organs are then cramped and injured. 

of the air passages to become inflamed, and a con¬ 
siderable number of smokers-have “ smoker’s sore 
throat.” The worst effect of tobacco, however, 
comes from taking the smoke into the lungs, as cig¬ 
arette smokers almost always do. This is espe¬ 
cially injurious to the body, because large amounts 
of the poisonous matter in the tobacco smoke pass 
through the thin walls of the air sacs into the blood 




THE LUNGS AND AIR PASSAGES 57 

and are carried all through the body. Smoking also 
causes a shortness of breath, as the cigarette smoker 
who tries to win a race very well knows. 

The effect of alcohol on the lungs- The chief 
injury to the lungs and air passages caused by alco¬ 
hol is that it makes them more easily attacked by 
germ diseases. It has long been known by physi¬ 
cians that pneumonia is much more likely to kill a 
user of alcohol than a temperate person, and that 
drinkers suffer far more from consumption than do 
persons who use no alcohol. Were there no reason 
but this for not using alcohol, any one would be fool¬ 
ish to drink it; for pneumonia and consumption 
are so common that in the part of the United States 
where a record is kept of deaths, one person in 
five dies from one or the other of these diseases. 

Breathing exercises. You should stand erect 
several times a day and take a few long, deep 
breaths. If you have been sitting quietly at your 
work for some time, it will make your tired muscles 
more comfortable to .stretch the arms and swing 
them about. A half-dozen breaths of cool, fresh air, 
taken at an open window, will do wonders toward 
waking you up when you have become tired and 
sleepy at your work. It is good for the whole body 
to have the carbon dioxid emptied out of the lungs, 
a fresh supply of oxygen taken in, and the heart 
made to send the blood more quickly on its way. 
Vigorous breathing exercises should not be practiced 

Hy —5 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


58 

by persons who are sick or weak, however; and they 
are very injurious to consumptives. No one should 
practice breathing exercises long enough to make 
himself dizzy. 

Questions : 1. What are some of the most common diseases 
of the organs of breathing? 2. How can we, to some ex¬ 
tent at least, avoid these diseases? 3. How does air get 
into the trachea? 4. Of what are the lungs principally 
made up? 5. How does the air get into the air sacs? 6. 
How does oxygen get into the blood? 7. What is given off 
in exchange for oxygen? 8. In what two ways may dust 
cause injury to the air passages and lungs? 9. Name some 
dusty trades, and tell how you know that it is dangerous to 
breathe dust. 10. What is the best way to clean the streets 
of a town or city? n. How should a room be swept? 12. 
What are the effects upon the lungs of a stooping position? 
13. Why is this injurious? 14. How should clothing and 
belts be made to fit? 15. What is the chief harm done to 
the organs of breathing by alcohol? 16. What proportion 
of all deaths is caused by pneumonia and consumption? 
17. State three ways in which the habit of smoking is in¬ 
jurious. 18. What are the advantages of breathing ex¬ 
ercises? 19. What persons should not take them? 

Suggestions and topics for development : Plain furniture and 
floors finished for use with rugs compared from a hygienic point 
of view with carpeted floors and plush-covered furniture. The 
cost of laying a hardwood floor over another floor compared 
with the cost of an equal area of carpet. How your school¬ 
room can be swept without raising dust. 


CHAPTER TWELVE 

ADENOIDS AND ENLARGED TONSILS 



Fig. 36. Children with adenoids. Many children who have 
adenoids breathe through the mouth only at night or when they 
have a cold. 


There are certain troubles of the nose and throat 
which do not often cause either sickness or pain, but 
which narrow or close the air passages and keep the 
person from getting a sufficient supply of air. These 
diseases often go on for years without being dis¬ 
covered, but they are serious and should be promptly 
treated when found. How common these troubles 
are is shown by the fact that in 415 villages of New 
York State it was found that nearly one eighth 
of the school children were breathing through the 
mouth instead of the nose. 

The evil effect of breathing through the 
mouth. Mouth breathing causes the upper teeth 
to turn forward and the lips to thicken and turn out, 
thus spoiling the appearance of the face. What is 
more serious, it allows millions of bacteria to get 
59 


6o 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


into the mouth, and it allows cold and dusty air to 
reach the throat and lungs. Worst of all, the gen¬ 
eral health of the mouth breather is weakened. 



Fig. 37. Adenoids grow high in the throat and block the 
openings from the nose into the throat. 


The cause of mouth breathing is usually adenoid 
growths or enlarged tonsils. 

Adenoids. Examinations have shown that in 
moist climates as many as one sixth of all the chil¬ 
dren of school age may have adenoids. They 
are soft, spongy bodies that grow high up in the 
throat where the passages from the nose open at 
the back into the throat (Fig. 37). They partly 
or entirely stop up the nose so that the person must 
breathe through the mouth, and they are often the 
cause of deafness. The usual symptoms of adenoids 



ADENOIDS AND ENLARGED TONSILS 6l 

are breathing through the mouth, a narrow upper 
jaw and crowded teeth, thick lips and a running 
nose, difficulty in talking, inflamed eyes, and deaf¬ 
ness. In most cases the inner corners of the eyes 
are drawn down, and the face has the strained ex¬ 
pression that you see on the faces of the children 
in Figure 36. Many children who have adenoid 
growths are smaller than they ought to be, some of 
them have difficulty in keeping up with their classes, 
and sometimes adenoids have the strange effect 
of causing the child to be restless, idle, stupid, 
quarrelsome, and a general mischief-maker. 

Enlarged tonsils. The tonsils are located one 
on each side of the throat. Sometimes they be¬ 
come swollen and close the openings that lead 
down from the back of the nose into the throat. 
This condition is so common that when 275,000 
children in the New York City schools were ex¬ 
amined, more than one fourth of them were found 
to have enlarged tonsils. Such a condition of the 
tonsils causes mouth breathing and the germs from 
them are a continual danger to the voice, the lungs, 
and the digestive organs. 

The importance of treating adenoids and en¬ 
larged tonsils. Does your nose become stopped 
up whenever you take a little cold? Do the other 
members of your family tell you that you sleep with 
your mouth open and that you snore in your sleep? 
Is it hard for you to keep your nose clean? Do you 


62 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


talk through your nose? Are you troubled with ear¬ 
ache or deafness? Do you suffer from tonsillitis, or do 
you have any other of the symptoms of adenoids? 

If you are troubled in any of these ways, ask 
your parents to take you to a' physician, who, by a 
very small operation, can remove the cause of 
your troubles. Do not allow any one to persuade 
you to wait until you outgrow adenoids; for while 
you may outgrow the adenoids themselves, the ugly 
shape of the mouth and lips, the narrow air passages 
in the nose, and the deafness that the adenoids cause 
will remain through life. Besides, you can no more 
get fresh air through a closed nose than through a 
closed window, and it is almost as hard to grow into 
a strong, healthy man or woman while you are 
struggling for air as it would be to do so without 
sufficient food. 

Questions : i. How does mouth breathing change the 
shape of the mouth? 2. What are the worst effects of 
mouth breathing? 3. To what is mouth breathing usually 
due? 4. What are adenoids and where do they grow? 5. 
What are some of the results of adenoids? 6. Where are 
the tonsils? 7. What are some of the results of enlarged 
tonsils? 8. Why should adenoids or enlarged tonsils be 
removed as soon as they are found? 9. Is it reasonable to 
wait to outgrow such troubles? 

Suggestions and topics for development: Watch pupils for 
symptoms of adenoids and enlarged tonsils. A number will be 
found with these troubles if the teacher will learn to recognize the 
symptoms. 


CHAPTER THIRTEEN 


THE BLOOD AND THE HEART 



Fig. 38. The heart. 


Suppose that in a great city all the wagons that 
deliver groceries and milk, and all the carts that 
haul away rubbish and garbage, should stop running. 
The grocery stores might have abundant supplies of 
food, but the food could not be taken to those who 
needed it, and there would be suffering and starva¬ 
tion throughout the city. The garbage cans would 
become filled to overflowing, and so much waste 
63 


64 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


matter would collect that disease and death would 
be caused by it. The very life of the city depends 
on having some way of carrying food to every part 
of it and some way of taking away the wastes. 

Your body is much like a city. Every part of it 
must have food and oxygen brought to it, and every 
part must have its wastes carried away, or it cannot 
live. We are now to study how this work is done. 

The blood. The blood carries everything that 
is to be moved from one part of the body to an¬ 
other. It takes up the food which soaks through 
the wall of the intestine and the oxygen that comes 
in from the lungs. It carries these all through the 
body, and supplies them to the muscles and the 
brain and the other body parts. It also takes up 
the wastes of all the organs and brings them to the 
lungs and kidneys, where they are thrown out of 
the body. To do this work, the blood must travel 
swiftly through the body night and day as long as 
the body is alive. 

The heart. Place your hand on the left side of 
your chest and you can feel your heart beat. Count 
how often it beats in a minute. As the heart beats 
it pumps the blood through the body. Day after 
day and year after year it must work to keep the 
blood flowing through the body. 

The blood vessels. The blood vessels are hollow 
tubes or pipes. There are two great sets of them 
connected with the heart and running everywhere 


THE BLOOD AND THE HEART 65 

through the body. One set is called the arteries. 
They carry the blood out from the heart to every 
part of the body. The other set of blood vessels is 
called the veins. It is their work to collect the blood 
from all parts of the body and bring it hack to the 



Fig. 39. Short races are good for boys, but long races are 
too severe on the heart. (From photograph furnished by 

Joseph Hickey , Secretary San Francisco Playground Commission.') 


heart. Near the heart the blood vessels are very 
large, but through all the body there are thousands 
of little blood vessels, so small and so close together 
that you cannot run the point of the finest needle 
into your flesh without breaking many of them. 

^Violent exercise injurious to the heart. Run 
up and down stairs two or three times, or run a 
hundred yards as fast as you can. Then notice 
your heart and you will find that it is beating much 
harder and perhaps twice as fast as it beats when 
you are sitting quietly in your seat. From this you 




66 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


can imagine how enormously the work of the heart 
is increased in Marathon races, hard bicycle riding, 
football, rapid and long-continued skipping of the 
rope, or hour after hour of tennis playing. When 
the heart is overworked, it often becomes enlarged 
and diseased, and this condition is found so often 
among those who engage in hard games and sports 
that it is called “ athlete’s heart.” Young persons 
are especially liable to have their hearts injured by 
very severe games and long races. They should 
therefore take their exercise in a way that will not 
put too great a strain on the heart. 

The effect of alcohol on the heart. Alcohol 
often causes the heart to become weakened; and in 
drinkers, especially beer drinkers, great quantities 
of fat sometimes gather about the heart. In this 
condition the heart cannot do its work properly; 
and in sicknesses like typhoid fever or pneumonia, 
it is likely to fail. Alcohol often causes the walls 
of the blood vessels to become hard and brittle. 
Strokes of paralysis and apoplexy (which are caused 
by the bursting of a blood vessel in the brain) are 
far more common among drinkers than among 
those who do not use alcohol. 

How to stop bleeding from a wound. If the 
blood flows from a wound in spurts, the cut blood 
vessel is an artery. The bleeding can be stopped by 
twisting a cord or a knotted handkerchief above 
the wound, as shown in Figure 40. If the blood 


THE BLOOD AND THE HEART 67 

flows in a steady stream, the cut vessel is a vein; in 
this case the bandage should be placed below the 
wound. The injured part of the body should be 
kept raised. If the cut 
vessel is a large one, it is 
necessary to act very 
quickly, and some one 
should press on the part 
to stop the bleeding until 
the bandage can be made 
ready. If the wound is on 
the head or body, a thick 
cloth should be pressed 
firmly down upon it. A 
physician should be caUed FlG ' 4 ° f Checking bleeding 

as quickly as possible. 

Bleeding from the nose. Bleeding from the 
nose may often be stopped by simply pressing 
the upper lip against the teeth, or against a small 
ball of paper or some other object placed between 
the teeth and the lip. Bathing the neck in cold 
water may also help to check the bleeding. The 
head should be held erect in nose bleeding, so 
that as little blood as possible will run to the nose. 
Do not blow the nose, for this will often start the 
bleeding afresh. 

Questions : 1. In what ways is the body like a city? 2. 
What does the blood do in the body? 3. Where is the 
heart? 4. How often does your heart beat in a minute? 




68 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


5. Why does the body live only so long as the heart beats? 

6. What are the two sets of blood vessels called? 7. What 
do the arteries do? 8. What do the veins do? 9. What 
effect has exercise upon the heart? 10. Name some forms 
of exercise that put a great strain on the heart. 11. What 
effect has alcohol on the heart? 12. On the blood vessels? 

13. Tell how to stop bleeding from a cut in the arm or leg. 

14. From a cut in the body or head. 15. From the nose. 


CHAPTER FOURTEEN 

THE KIDNEYS 




Examine the body of one of the animals that hang 
in a meat market and you will find two dark red 
organs fastened to the back 
wall of the body. They are 
bean-shaped, and lie half 
buried in fat, one on each 
side of the backbone. 

What are these organs? 

They are the kidneys. What 
do they do? They take 
wastes out of the blood. 

Is their work important? 

Their work is as important 
as the work of any other 
organ of the body, for if they 
fail to do it the wastes will 
poison the body and cause 
death. We could no more Fig. 41. 
get along without kidneys 
than we could get along without our digestive 
organs or our lungs. 

How the kidneys remove the body wastes. 

A large blood vessel passes into each kidney 
and sends branches into every part of it. As 
the blood passes through the kidneys, the kid¬ 
neys purify it by taking the wastes out of it, 
just as the lungs purify the blood by taking the 
carbon dioxid out of it. The wastes from the 

69 



The kidneys and 
the bladder. 






70 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


kidneys are carried to the bladder by a duct from 
each kidney. 

Keeping the kidneys in health. The kidneys 
lie deep in the body, and we can best keep them in 
health by caring for the whole body. There are, 
however, some things that should be avoided if pos¬ 
sible. Among the things that are especially likely 
to injure the kidneys may be mentioned heavy 
lifting, exposure to cold and wet, indigestion, eat¬ 
ing too much meat, and especially the drinking of 
alcohol, which is by far the most common cause of 
kidney trouble. 

Questions : i. Where are the kidneys found in the body? 
2. What is their function? 3. Name some things that 
injure the kidneys. 4. What effect have alcoholic drinks 
on the kidneys? 


CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

THE SKIN 



Fig. 42. Swimming is an invigorating way to take a bath. It is 
also one of the best forms of exercise, because it brings into play 
all the muscles of the body. (After Sorolla’s “ The Swimmersin 
the Metropolitan Museum of Art.) 

The living parts of the body are extremely delicate 
and tender, and if they were exposed to hurts, to 
drying, and to disease germs they could not live. 
We therefore have over the whole body a tough 
coat which protects the delicate living body parts. 
The inner part of this coat is alive, but the part 
which comes in contact with the outside world is 
dead and keeps falling away in dry scales. 

The structure of the skin. The skin is com¬ 
posed of an outer layer called the epidermis and an 
inner layer called the dermis . The epidermis has no 
71 


72 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


hair 


epidermis 


blood vessels in it, but its inner part is alive and 
keeps growing to take the place of the outer part 
that is all the time dying and falling away. Every¬ 
where in the skin are little sweat glands that pour 
out the sweat on the surface of the skin. 

The skin a regulator of the body heat. The 
temperature of the healthy body, winter and sum¬ 
mer, is about 98.6 degrees. 
It remains the same be¬ 
cause the skin regulates the 
heat of the body. This 
it does in two ways. When 
we are hot, the blood vessels 
in the skin open up and 
allow the blood to come to 
the outside of the body, 
where it can be cooled. 
When we are cold, the ves¬ 
sels in the skin close up 
and keep the blood in the 
warm inner parts of the 
body. Another way in 
which the skin regulates 



dermis 


sweat gland 


Fig. 43. A section of the the heat is through the 
skm, highly magnified. swea t glands. These assist 

in cooling the body by pouring out water on the 
skin. If the sweat glands fail to work, the tem¬ 
perature of the body goes too high and we have 
fever. 



THE SKIN 


73 


Wet the hand and hold it up to the wind. Do 
you feel your hand being cooled as the water evap¬ 
orates from it? Or pour alcohol or gasoline over 
the hand and allow it to dry off. Do you feel that 
your hand is being cooled? Suppose the air was so 
moist that the sweat could not evaporate from the 
skin. Would it cool the body to have the skin wet 
with sweat? On what kind of day do we suffer 
most from heat? 

The hair. The hair grows from the epidermis, 
and like the outer layer of the epidermis the hair is 
dead. It contains no blood vessels, and there is no 
sense of feeling in it. The growth of the hair is at 
the root. The hair is composed of the same ma¬ 
terial as the outer layer of the skin. 

Each hair stands in a little pocket of the epidermis 
that is folded down deep into the dermis. Open¬ 
ing into this small pocket are little glands that 
pour out oil around the root of the hair. Brush 
your hair thoroughly and it will become smooth 
and glossy from the oil that you work out from 
around the roots. Fine hairs are found all over the 
body, and the oil that comes from the glands at 
the roots of these hairs keeps the skin from becom¬ 
ing dry. 

The care of the hair. In the care of the hair 
nothing is so important as thoroughly brushing it. 
This brings the blood into the scalp and spreads 
the oil along the hair. The hair should not be wet 

Hy—6 


74 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


every time it is combed, for the oil will be washed 
off, making the hair too dry. The head -should be 
washed occasionally with good soap to cleanse the 
hair and remove scales and dirt from the scalp. 
Dandruff is caused by germs growing in the oil 
glands and in the little pockets about the hairs. 
One person can get this disease from another, and 



Figs. 44 and 45. Well kept finger nails and finger nails that have 
been bitten off. 

for this reason public combs and brushes should 
not be used. 

The nails and their care. A nail is a portion 
of the outer layer of the epidermis that is very much 
thickened and hardened. Its growth is at the base. 
When a nail is lost a new one will grow in its place 
if the bed on which the nail rests is not destroyed; 
but if this bed has been destroyed, the nail will not 
grow again. 

The nails should not be bitten off, nor should they 
be trimmed “to the quick,” for this will spoil their 





THE SKIN 


75 


shape and their appearance. They should be al¬ 
lowed to grow long enough to protect the ends of 
the fingers, and the space beneath the ends of the 
nails should be kept free from dirt. This is more 



Fig. 46. Showing the necessary sanitary fixtures of a modern 
bathroom. Note especially the tooth basin, the use of which 
keeps germs from the mouth from getting into the wash basin. 


a question of common cleanliness than it is of health; 
although it is a fact that bacteria multiply in the 
dirt under the finger nails, and inflammation some¬ 
times is started in the skin by scratching with dirty 
finger nails. 

Bathing. “ Tolerate no uncleanness in your 
body, clothes, or habitation” was one of Benjamin 
Franklin’s rules for success, and few men have un¬ 
derstood the secrets of success better than he. Fin¬ 
ger nails that are in mourning, greasy hair, soiled 
































































































;6 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


and unbrushed clothing, unclean teeth, and the 
lack of a needed bath cause a person to be disagree¬ 
able to those about him. Such conditions greatly 
hinder usefulness and success. 

Cold baths. Those who take a daily cold bath 
do not catch cold so easily as do others, and many 
strong, vigorous persons are greatly benefited by 
this practice. Weak and sick people, however, and 
especially those who are inclined to be nervous, 
should not take cold baths except upon the advice 
of a physician. The safest rule to follow in bathing 
is to use lukewarm water unless you can take a 
cold bath with pleasant results. 

Questions: i. What use has the skin? 2. Name the 
layers of the skin. 3. What do the sweat glands do? 4. 
What is the temperature of the healthy body? 5. Explain 
the two ways of regulating the heat of the body. 6. In 
what does a hair stand? 7. Where does the oil for the hair 
come from? 8. Does a bird have oil for its feathers? 9. 
Explain how brushing benefits the hair. 10. What is the 
cause of dandruff? n. How can a person catch dandruff? 
12. Why is it important to keep the nails clean? 13. What 
was Benjamin Franklin’s rule of success regarding cleanli¬ 
ness? 14. What advantage is there in taking cold baths? 
15. What persons need to be careful in taking cold baths? 


CHAPTER SIXTEEN 


CLOTHING 



Figs. 47 and 48. A so-called parlor slipper and one kind of 
Chinese shoe. Is either of them a sensible shoe? 

Clothing protects the body from injury and shields 
it from heat and cold and from sun and rain. Our 
personal appearance depends to a great extent on 
the clothing that we wear, and it is right that we 
should try to have our clothing as neat and as be¬ 
coming to us as is possible. We should not forget, 
however, that the real use of clothing is to protect 
the body; that if we wear clothes that are uncom¬ 
fortable and unsuited to the weather merely because 
they are pretty, we are as foolish as we should be if 
we tried to live on peaches because they are more 
beautiful than bread and meat. 

Clothing in cold weather. Clothing protects 
us from cold by keeping the heat of the body from 
passing off into the air. Only enough clothing 
should be worn to keep the body warm, because 
heavy clothing overheats the body and interferes 
with the breathing and the movement of the blood. 

77 


78 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


Overcoats and wraps should be worn in cold weather, 
but they should be taken off when we come indoors. 
If this is not done, the body will become too hot, 
the blood will come out into the skin, and the sweat 
glands will begin working. Then, on going out into 
the cold, the body is too suddenly cooled and there 
is danger of taking cold. 

Wet clothing and wet feet. Wet clothing takes 
the heat out of the body, and we should not allow 
the body to be chilled by letting clothing dry on 
it. Since cold and wet feet very commonly bring 
on colds, wet shoes and stockings should be changed 
for dry ones as quickly as possible. 

Three habits that will be of great value in saving 
you from colds and other diseases of the air passages 
and lungs are wearing overshoes when your feet will 
become damp without them, carrying an umbrella 
when there is danger of rain, and wearing an over¬ 
coat or wrap when you need it. 

Changing clothing with the changes of the 
weather. The Chinese seem to us to be a strange 
people, but when we examine into their customs we 
find that there is often much common-sense in the 
Chinese way of doing things. These shrewd people 
speak of the weather as one shirt weather, two shirt 
weather, three shirt weather, or four or five shirt 
weather, according as the weather is hot or cold. 
This means that on a hot day a Chinaman puts 
on one thin shirt, and the cooler the weather the 
more shirts he puts on. 


CLOTHING 


79 


We can learn a great deal from the Chinese about 
wearing clothing that is suited to the weather. An 
extra undershirt on cool days in the spring and fall 
and on very cold 
winter days would 
save many of us from 
colds or more serious 
sickness. Wearing 
cool, sensible cloth¬ 
ing in the summer, 
instead of heavy 
woolen garments, 
would prevent much 
of the suffering and 
sickness and many of the prostrations that come 
from the heat. 

A little baby should be thinly dressed on a hot 
day and warmly dressed in cold weather, and its 
clothing should have especial attention during 
changeable weather and on cool nights. Trying to 
harden children by having them go barefooted or 
with little clothing in cold weather is a mistake. 




Figs. 49 and 50. What trouble will 
the shoe at the right cause? 


Questions : 1. What are the uses of clothing? 2. When 
should overcoats and wraps be worn? 3. Why should they 
be removed when we are indoors? 4. Why is wet clothing 
injurious to the body? 5. Mention three habits that would 
help to save us from colds and other sickness. 6. How do 
the Chinese describe the weather? 7. What may we learn 
from the Chinese about properly clothing ourselves? 


8o 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 



» 


Fig. 51. The muscles. 
















CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 

THE CARRIAGE OF THE BODY 

“Stand up and be a man!” A wise old teacher 
often said this to the boys of his school. It is good 
advice, for an erect carriage 
of the body does much to 
make and keep one strong. 

It gives the heart and the 
lungs room to do their 
work, and it allows the life- 
giving blood to flow freely 
through all the body. No 
one who allows himself to 
stoop so that his lungs and 
heart are crowded together 
can be strong. One should 
“stand up and be a man” 
if he wishes to have a 
healthy body. 

The skeleton. The 
skeleton forms the frame¬ 
work of the body. The 
backbone, or spinal col¬ 
umn, runs up the back and 
carries the head on its top. 

From the spinal column the ribs and the shoulders 
are hung. The weight of all the upper part of 
the body falls on the spinal column, and if this 
part of the skeleton bends, the whole body will be 
stooped. 



Figs. 52 and 53. If the spinal 
column is allowed to droop the 
body is stooped. If the spinal 
column is straightened out the 
body is held erect. (After 
McKenzie.) 







82 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


The muscles. The muscles are stretched on 
the framework of the body. Their work is to move 
the body. Lay your hand on your arm above the 


elbow and bend the arm. 
You feel a muscle draw¬ 
ing itself together to pull 
up your forearm. Put your 
hand to your cheek while 
you close your teeth, and 
you feel the movements 
of the muscle that closes 
the jaws. All over the 
body we have masses of 
strong muscles that slide 
smoothly and noiselessly 
over each other and move 
the different parts of the 
body. 



How the body is held 


Fig. 54. Point out the muscles erect by the muscles of 
that support the spinal column. ^ splnal co j umn The 

body is held erect by great muscles that lie along 
the back on each side of the spinal column. The 
spinal column is held up if these muscles do their 
work properly, but if they are weak the spinal 
column bends forward, the head droops, and the 
ribs drop down and crowd the heart and lungs. 
No one can straighten himself by pushing his shoul¬ 
ders back, for the shoulders are supported by the 



THE CARRIAGE OF THE BODY 83 


spinal column just as the ears are supported by 
the head. The body can be straightened only by 



Figs. 55, 56, and 57. Standing in the first position and throwing 
all the weight of the body on one leg twists the spinal column. 
Standing with the feet even, or with one foot only slightly in ad¬ 
vance of the other, keeps the spinal column straight. {After Mosher .) 

tightening up the muscles along the back and straighten¬ 
ing the spinal column. 

How to secure a correct carriage of the body. 

Stand and walk with the top of your head pushed 
up as high as possible. This straightens out 
the spinal column. Pull your chin in and push 
the back of your neck against your collar. Draw 
in your abdomen and do not allow your back to 














8 4 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


bend forward at the waist. Exercise helps to de¬ 
velop the muscles that hold up the body, but no 
amount of exercise can give one an erect carriage. 
The best way to straighten up is to do it. 

The importance of holding the body erect 
in youth. The bones of a little child are easily 
bent, and by beginning in time they may be made to 
take almost any form, without causing much pain 
to the child. As a person grows older, the bones 
harden, and it is then impossible to change their 
shape. If you want to have a straight, beautiful 
body, you cannot put off beginning to hold yourself 
erect. The grown man or Woman whose bones have 
hardened in a stooped position can never straighten 
up, but must go through life with cramped heart 
and lungs. “Stand up and be a man!” 

Questions: i. How does an erect carriage help the body 
organs to do their work? 2. What is the function of the 
spinal column? 3. What is the work of the muscles ? 
4. How is the body held erect? 5. State three things that 
must be done in order to have a correct carriage. 6. Why 
is it important that children learn to carry the body 
properly? 

Suggestions and topics for development : Watch the pupils for 
faulty postures and privately advise with them as to the best 
methods of correction. Pay special attention to the curve of the 
spinal column and the relative height of the shoulders. See that 
each pupil has a seat and a desk of the proper height, providing 
footrests for the smallest children if necessary. Have the pupils 
trace the curve of the spinal column in Figure 59. Show how 
sitting in this position will cause the head to be thrust forward 
when standing and walking. 


THE CARR I AGE OF THE BODY 








In Figure 58 the seat and desk are of such a height that the feet rest 
squarely on the floor, the body is held easily erect, and the shoul¬ 
ders are even. In Figure 59 the desk is too high and too far away 
from the seat. In Figure 60 the desk is too high, causing lateral 
curvature of the spine and uneven height of the shoulders. Figure 61 
shows the bending over caused by too low a desk. (After Shaw.) 






































CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 

EXERCISE 



Fig. 62. Outdoor games furnish the best exercise because they 
bring into use all the muscles of the body, they take the mind off 
its tasks, and they keep us out in the fresh air. 


Exercise makes the muscles strong, it quickens 
the flow of the blood, it improves the digestion, 
and it builds up the general health. Like food, it 
is good for us and ought to be taken every day. 
Yet, as we can injure ourselves by eating more food 
than we can digest, so we can injure the body by 
taking too much or too violent exercise or by tak¬ 
ing it at the wrong time. In this chapter we shall 
study how to take exercise so that we shall get the 
most good from it. 

The open air the best place to exercise. 

The best place to exercise is in the open air. Then 
we get not only the benefits that come from the ex¬ 
ercise but also the benefits that come from staying 
in the open air. In cities this is an especially im- 
86 












EXERCISE 


8 7 


portant point, and many cities are now providing 
open-air playgrounds for the children of their crowded 
sections. If you live near such a playground, go to 
it as often as you can and take your little brothers 
and sisters with you, for outdoor play makes strong 
muscles, healthy lungs, rich blood, and an active 
brain. 

Exercise and the digestion. Nearly every¬ 
body who neglects to take exercise suffers from 
indigestion. You might as well understand this, 
for if you become too lazy or careless to exercise 
your muscles you can look forward to trouble with 
your stomach. On the other hand, you ought not 
to exercise hard immediately before eating, and 
you should rest a while after eating, or the diges¬ 
tive organs will not get the blood they ought to 
have while they are forming the digestive juices. 
When a boy is hot and tired, his blood is in the skin, 
and when he is running and playing, it goes to his 
muscles and not to the organs that are digesting 
the food. 

Some rules in regard to exercise. Exercise 
ought to be taken regularly. A reasonable amount 
every day is far better than a large amount one day 
and none the next. Proper exercise brings into use 
and builds up all the muscles. It does not make 
giants of a few muscles and leave the others small 
and weak. Outdoor games are best of all for de¬ 
veloping the whole body. One should not allow 


88 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


himself to cool off too quickly after exercising , as there 
is then danger of taking cold. Do not sit down 
without a coat or wrap when you are hot and tired, 
but walk about until you have become cool. 

Over-exercising. In a -former chapter (page 
65) we have spoken of the danger of injuring the 
heart by too violent and long-continued exercise. 



Fig. 63. Children exercising in a schoolroom. Even in a crowded 
room, and without any apparatus, very beneficial exercises can be 
given. (After McKenzie.) 


Such exercise is not good for any part of the body. 
Do not play tennis all day. Do not run after and 
kick a football all afternoon. Do not ride a bicycle 
too hard. Do not play baseball or exercise in a gym¬ 
nasium until you are so tired that you still feel it 
the next morning. Be moderate and sensible in your 
exercise as in everything else, and remember that if 
you exercise until you are so exhausted that you can¬ 
not quickly rest afterwards you have gone too far. 

Exercise in the schoolroom. After one has 
been sitting quietly at a desk for an hour or two, 








EXERCISE 


89 


the breathing is shallow, the muscles are tired from 
remaining a long time in one position, the heart¬ 
beat is slow, and the brain is beginning to tire. A 
person in this condition feels sleepy and dull, and 
he can learn little by sitting and looking at his book. 
If, however, he will stand up and spend a few min¬ 
utes in stretching and breathing exercises, he will 
find himself feeling much better. The breathing 
will become deeper, the heart will beat more rapidly 
and with more force, and the tired muscles will feel 
rested. The brain and the body are “ waked up,” 
and the person can go back to work, feeling greatly 
freshened and rested. Several times a day every one 
in a schoolroom should spend a little time in such 
exercises as are described in Chapter Twenty-six. 
While this is being done, all the windows should be 
thrown wide open and the fresh outside air allowed 
to fill the room. 

Questions : 1. What are some of the benefits of exercis¬ 

ing? 2. What is the best place to take exercise? 3. Why 
should those who live in cities make use of the parks and 
open-air playgrounds? 4. Why is it unwise to exercise 
immediately before or after a meal? 5. Give three good 
rules in regard to exercise. 6. In what games or sports do 
the players sometimes injure themselves by too much ex¬ 
ercise? 7. What is the best way to rest after you have 
become tired of study? 

Suggestions and topics for development: The exercise that 
pupils take during play hours. The wisdom of supplying school 
and municipal playgrounds. 

Ily —7 


CHAPTER NINETEEN 

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 

If an army had no officers, and each soldier marched 
as he pleased and camped where he pleased, we 
should not call it an army at all, but a mob; and 
if the whole army attacked tire enemy without plan 
or purpose, each man fighting in his own way, we 
should not expect it to win many victories. If an 
army is to stand before an enemy, it must have a 
general over it who will keep all its parts working 
together. 

The human body is composed of many organs, 
and as all the parts of an army must be made to 
work together, so must all the organs of the body 
be made to work together. Over all the body, 
therefore, a ruler has been set to govern the organs 
and to make them do their work when it needs 
to be done. This ruler is the nervous system. It 
is made up of the brain and spinal cord , and of 
the nerves , which run out from the brain and spinal 
cord to all parts of the body. 

The brain and the spinal cord. The center of 
the nervous system is the brain and the spinal cord. 
The brain is enclosed by the cranium or bones of 
the head. The spinal cord lies in a canal in the 
spinal column. The brain and the cord are very 
soft and delicate, and they are protected by the 
strong bones about them. 

Nerves and their work. From the brain and 
spinal cord the nerves run out and branch until 

90 


THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 


9 i 



Fig. 64. The nervous system. From the brain and spinal cord, 
nerves run to all parts of the body. 



92 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


they reach every muscle and the smallest parts of 
every organ. The work of the nerves is to carry mes¬ 
sages between the brain and the other parts of the body. 
If you stick a pin into your finger, some of the thou¬ 
sands of nerves that end in the skin take a message 
to the brain. You then know that the finger was 
hurt. If you wish to lift your hand, your brain 
sends a message down the nerves to the muscles of 
your arm and causes them to move the hand. So 
whenever we hear, see, taste, smell, or feel, or when¬ 
ever we move, we do so because the nerves carry 
messages either to or from the brain. 

The work of the brain. The brain is the great 
center of the nervous system. It governs the heart 
and lungs. It gives us power to move when we 
wish to do so. It makes us able to see and to hear, 
to think and to feel, to know and to understand. 
Without the brain we should have no knowledge of 
where our hands and feet are, we could feel neither 
heat nor cold, and we should always remain in one 
place as does a tree. The mind of man has made 
him the ruler of the world, but without the brain 
the mind would be gone. There would then be no 
joy or love or knowledge in us, and our whole ex¬ 
istence would be like the existence of a stone. 

Questions : i. Why must the body have a ruler to govern 
it? 2. What is the ruler of the body called? 3. Name 
the chief parts of the nervous system. 4. Where is the 
brain? 5. Where is the spinal cord? 6. How are the brain 


THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 


93 


and spinal cord protected? 7. What is the work of the 
nerves? 8. Explain what happens in the nerves when you 
stick a pin into your finger, 9. When you wish to move a 
part of the body. 10. Explain the work of the brain, n. 
What would life be like without a brain? 

Suggestions and topics for development : The resemblance 
of the nervous system to a telephone system. Make clear the fact 
that the brain is nourished in the same way as the other parts of 
the body, and that there is no such thing as a brain food. 


CHAPTER TWENTY 

THE CARE OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 


lb i> 1' 0 

10 \-I 



1 



Figs. 65, 66, and 67. Rest and quiet recreation build up tired 
nervous systems. 


The nervous system is the ruler of all the body, 
and if it is not kept in health the whole body must 
suffer. To keep it in health requires good food, 
pure air, exercise, freedom from germ diseases, — all 
the things that are needed by the rest of the body. 
There are also a few special points in regard to the 
care of the nervous system that it is well to know. 
In this chapter we shall discuss the need for rest 
and sleep, and the injury that comes to the nervous 
system from suffering pain. 

The necessity for rest. No people have ever 
worked as the American people are now working. 
As a people, we hurry on from day to day, scarcely 
taking time to eat in a healthful manner. Even our 
play and our amusements are full of nervousness 
and excitement, and many of our people hardly 
know what an hour of quiet, peaceful rest is. 

This kind of life is not healthful either for the 
body or for the mind, and while you are still in your 


94 













THE CARE OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM % 

youth you should form the habit of resting. When 
you become tired at your play, lie down and rest. 
If you have a hard task and feel wearied after you 
have performed it, do not hurry off to play, but 
give your body the rest it needs. If you have a 
hard lesson, put your mind on it and study while 
you are at it; but if you find that your mind is tired 
and you are only looking at your book, stop and 



Figs. 08 and 69. A proper and an improper position for sleeping. 
Too high a pillow bends the spinal column to the side, interferes 
with the breathing, and disturbs the sleep. 


rest. Get up and open the window and take a 
breathing exercise, while you think of something else. 
Endeavor to keep yourself calm and quiet, avoid 
fits of anger or great excitement, and do not overdo 
at your play or at your work. Learn that peace and 
quietness are as much a part of a healthful, useful 
life as the bustle and excitement in which some 
people always live. Learn to rest, and you will 
have learned something that will do much toward 
keeping your nervous system in health. 

The necessity for sleep. The nervous system 
needs something that the rest of the body does not 





















PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


96 

require, and that is sleep. Without sleep we cannot 
remain in health. Young babfes sleep nearly all 

the time, and the twelve 
or fourteen-year old boy 
or girl ought to have 
nine or ten hours of 
sleep every night. If 
you are sleepy at get¬ 
ting up time, go to bed 
earlier. There is no 
truth in the idea that a 
healthy person can have 
too much sleep. 

In this connection it 
is of interest to know 
that many people find 

Fig 70. Contentment is necessary t h a t they need about an 
for the health of the nervous system. ^ ^ ^ 

hour less sleep each 
night when they sleep in the open air than when 
they sleep indoors. So move your bed out on an 
upper porch and build up your nervous system by 
breathing the pure out-door air. 

Pain. The suffering of pain has a very bad effect 
on the nervous system. Ill health and disease bring 
on old age faster than the passing of the years, and 
one reason why sickness so often leaves the body 
weakened and aged is that the nervous system has 
been wrecked by the pain that it has borne. A 



THE CARE OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 97 

week of toothache or of earache is a great drain on 
the nervous system. A corn that is continually 
causing pain can do as much to wear out your 
nervous system as an hour’s extra work each day. 
Sometimes we learn to pay little attention to a dull 
pain and allow it to go on from week to week, but it 
is not right to do this. Pain is nature’s danger signal; 
it is a call for help from some part of the body. 
Your nervous system can no more rest when these 
calls are coming to it night and day, than you could 
rest with the screams of some one who is calling for 
help constantly coming to your ears. 

Have you toothache? Have you earache? Have 
you headaches? Do your eyes pain you? Do your 
feet hurt you? Have you pain in any other part of 
the body? If so, ask your parents to take you to a 
dentist or to a physician. For you ought to get up 
in the morning feeling fresh and rested; and you 
ought to go to bed, tired and sleepy perhaps, but 
free from pain. 

Questions : 1. Mention three points that are important 
in the care of the nervous system. 2. Does a person who 
works quietly and rests when he needs it do any less work 
than the person who is hurrying all the time? 3. How 
many hours of sleep ought you to have? 4. How may a 
person know if he is getting enough sleep? 5. What should 
be done by a person who continues to suffer pain? 6. Why? 

Suggestions and topics for development : How a vacation may 
best be spent to fit one for another year’s work, 

7 


CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 


THE IMPORTANCE OF HABIT 



Figs. 71, 72, and 73. Keeping the teeth clean, breathing pure air, 
and going to bed regularly at an early hour are three habits that 
have much to do with keeping us in health. 


When the nervous system has done a thing once, it 
does it the second time more easily. When one has 
performed an act a great number of times, one’s 
nervous system becomes so trained that it carries 
out the act easily and quickly and often without 
thought. When the nervous system becomes trained 
in this way, we say that we have formed a habit. 

Just what happens in the nervous system when 
a habit is formed no one knows. But we do know 
that in the movements of the muscles, in the train¬ 
ing of the mind, and in the building of the charac¬ 
ter, nothing has so great an influence as the habits 
we have formed. 

Habits and health. It is not single acts, but 
habits, that destroy the health. It is not single acts, 
but habits, that build up the health. 

98 






















THE IMPORTANCE OF HABIT ' 99 

You will not become stooped by bending over a 
desk one day, nor will you become straight by hold¬ 
ing yourself erect some one time when you are 
walking down the street. Eating your dinner hur¬ 
riedly one day and rushing back to school will not 
cause dyspepsia, nor will taking time to eat a few 
meals slowly cure it. The teeth decay, not because 
we leave them uncleaned for one day, but because 
we make a habit of leaving them uncleaned. The 
nervous system is injured, not by staying up late one 
evening, but by the habit of staying up late. The 
race for health is a long one, and it is not the short 
excited dash, but the patient plodding onward in the 
right course, that wins it. Habits and not acts are 
the important things in keeping the body in 
health. 

Seven hygienic habits that you ought to form. 

1. Keep your teeth clean. 

2. Eat moderately and chew your food thoroughly. 

3. Breathe pure air whenever it is possible to do so. 

4. Go to bed regularly at a reasonable hour. 

5. Take proper exercise and hold yourself erect. 

6. Learn to rest and to keep yourself calm. 

7. Guard yourself, so far as you can, from dis¬ 
ease germs. 

Form these seven habits and they will do more than 
all the medicines in the land to keep you in health. 

Making hygienic habits a part of our lives. 

Our habits become a part of our way of living and 


100 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


doing things, and we do not think of them as some¬ 
thing that it requires extra work to carry out. If 
you will form the habits that we have mentioned 
above, you will soon clean your teeth as a matter 
of course and wonder how' any one can feel com¬ 
fortable without doing so. You will find yourself 
surprised that any one should want to make him¬ 
self sick by eating too much or by swallowing his 
food without chewing it. You will think it strange 
that any one should live in a thick, stuffy atmos¬ 
phere when there is pure air only the thickness of 
a window-pane away. You will feel your own hard 
muscles and almost pity the flabby-muscled people 
whom you meet. You will get out of patience with 
the person who potters around when he ought to go 
to bed; and you will be amused when you see some 
one get excited over nothing and run around like an 
ant that has lost its way. You will guard yourself 
from disease germs without feeling that you are 
taking extra trouble; and you will feel sorry for 
the poor persons all about you who needlessly suffer, 
from germ diseases. Put into .practice these health 
habits, and see if after a little while it is any special 
work for you to carry them out. 

Mental habits. As we form habits of the body, 
so we form habits of the mind. And as it is the 
habits and not the single acts that are important 
to the body, so it is the habits that are important 
to the mind. A boy does not fail in his class because 


THE IMPORTANCE OF HABIT 


IOI 


Youth the time when lasting 
habits are formed. Two or three 
days are enough to form or break a 
habit in a baby, but the older we 
become the harder it is for us to 



he misses school one day, and he cannot pass his 
examinations with a high mark by studying his 
lessons for one day. It is the steady 
work day by day that gives the train¬ 
ing of the mind, the store of knowl¬ 
edge, and the habits of work that 
enable a pupil to pass up from grade 
to grade in a satisfactory manner. 

Form the habit of studying and 
you will find that it is as easy to 
learn your lessons as it is to fail to 
learn them. 


break old habits and to form new 
ones. Just as the bones harden 
as we become older, with whatever 
shapes they had in youth, so the 
nervous system becomes set in its 
ways of doing things as we advance 


Fig. 74. Thirty- 
five years ago a 
young man tied this 
hickory tree in a 
knot. Now all the 
men in the world 
could not untie it. 
The habits that we 
form in youth are 


in years. You should form habits 
that will carry you on in the 
road to health, and to respected, 
truthful, successful manhood and 
womanhood. 


knots that we can¬ 
not untie in later 
years. {From a 
photograph by 
Major Ben Cun¬ 
ningham, Marys¬ 
ville, Tennessee .) 


102 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


The habit of cheerfulness. Cheerfulness in¬ 
creases the flow of the digestive juices; it quickens the 
blood, and gives tone and vigor to the whole body. 
Care and worry and discontent have exactly the 
opposite effects. It is most important, therefore, that 
we form the habit of meeting the world with a brave 
heart; that we learn to appreciate the sunshine of 
life, to find contentment in our lot, to dismiss vexa¬ 
tious trifles, and to banish useless worry from our 
minds. The great poet, Robert Browning, gave us 
both a beautiful song of youth and a splendid 
philosophy of life in a few lines when he wrote: 

“The year's at the spring 
And day's at the morn; 

Morning's at seven; 

The hillside's dew-pearled; 

The lark's on the wing; 

The snail's on the thorn: 

God's in His heaven — 

All's right with the world." 

Questions : i. What do we mean by a habit? 2. How 
are habits formed? 3. Is it as easy to form a good habit 
as a bad habit? 4. Name some habits that help to pre¬ 
serve the health. 5. How can one make these a part of 
his life? 6. How are mental habits formed? 7. Why 
should we form good habits in youth? 8. What is meant 
by the old saying, “As the twig is bent the tree is inclined”? 

9. By the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”? 

10. Do proverbs of this kind usually express some truth? 


CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 

THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE BODY 

As we have studied the great systems of organs 
that do the work of the body, we have learned that 
some of these organs are injured by the use of al¬ 
cohol. This would be sufficient reason for avoiding 
alcoholic drinks, even though there were no other 
reasons. But aside from the damage done by it to 
separate organs, alcohol has far-reaching effects 
upon the body as a whole. These effects are more 
serious than the damage done to any single organ, 
and we cannot fully understand the evils which 
result from the use of alcohol until we know what 
these effects are. 

Alcohol not a brain stimulant. It is well 
known that alcohol in large quantities is a cause 
of delirium tremens, paralysis,, and insanity. The 
effect of small amounts of alcohol on the nervous 
system is not so well understood, and many per¬ 
sons still believe that a glass of beer or wine stim¬ 
ulates the brain and increases the working power of 
the mind and body. This idea is a mistake. Some 
typesetters were given an ounce (two tablespoon¬ 
fuls) of alcohol on certain days, and a record was 
kept of their work. These men did one tenth less 
work and made one fourth more mistakes on the 
days when they used alcohol than they did on days 
when they had no alcohol, and the effects of the 
alcohol lasted through the second day. A man who 
took three ounces of alcohol each day for twelve 

103 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


104 

days could add figures only three fifths as fast as 
when he took no alcohol, while it took him more 


<5.5 deaths for each 
100 cases of sickness 

2.3 weeks of sickness a year ( among; members of 

for each member of societies societies that admit 

that admit drinkers drinkers 


1.2 weeks of sick¬ 
ness a year for 
each member of ab¬ 
stainers' societies 



3.5 deaths for each 
100 cases of sickness 
among abstainers 


Figs. 75 and 76. Some of the benefit societies in Australia take 
in as members both drinkers and non-drinkers, while others admic 
only those who do not drink. The short line in the left-hand figure 
represents the average amount of sickness a year for each member 
of the abstainers’ societies, and the long line represents the average 
amount of sickness a year for each member of the societies that 
admit both drinkers and abstainers. Of the members of the ab¬ 
stainers’ societies who were attacked by sickness, 3.5 in a hundred 
died (represented by the short line of the right-hand figure); of 
the members of the other societies who were attacked by sickness, 
6.5 in a hundred died (represented by the long line of the right-hand 
figure). 1 


than three times as long to memorize a certain num¬ 
ber of lines of poetry. These facts show that the 
power to do mental work is lessened by alcohol, 


1 From statistics compiled by Hon. H. Dillon Gouge, Public 
Actuary of South Australia. 




THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE BODY 105 

even when taken in small amounts. This effect 
lasts for at least forty-eight hours after a small 
dose, and for this reason the person who drinks alco¬ 
hol daily is never able to do his full day’s work. 
Alcohol is not a brain stimulant. 

The resistance of the body to the germs weak¬ 
ened by alcohol. Persons who use alcohol are 
more easily attacked by germ diseases than are 
those who do not use alcohol, and the drinkers 
suffer more severely when they are attacked. In 
pneumonia the death-rate among drinkers is nearly 
twice as high as it is among non-drinkers, and in 
one epidemic of cholera in Glasgow the death-rate 
among the alcohol users attacked was nearly five 
times as high as it was among the sober men who 
took the disease. Many of the foremost medical 
men are now convinced that the giving of alcohol 
to a patient who is suffering from pneumonia, 
diphtheria, cholera, typhoid fever, or other germ 
disease is not only useless but positively harmful. 

Alcohol an ally of tuberculosis. In 1905 med¬ 
ical men who were interested in the study of 
tuberculosis met in a convention in Paris, to dis¬ 
cuss means for preventing the spread of this dis¬ 
ease. In this convention the following resolution 
was adopted: “In view of the close connection 
between alcoholism and tuberculosis , this Congress 
strongly emphasizes the necessity and importance of 
combining the fight against tuberculosis with the 

Hy—8 


106 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

struggle against alcohol .” These men believe that 
the use of alcohol is responsible for a great deal 
of consumption, and they are able to give good 
reasons for their belief. 1 

Alcohol and length of life. The records of life 
insurance companies show that out of the same 
number of drinking men and total abstainers there 
are about fourteen deaths of drinking men for every 
ten among abstainers. The number of drinking 
men dying between fifty and sixty years of age is 
almost three times as great as the number of teeto¬ 
talers. A man at twenty years of age may expect 
to live 42.2 years if he does not drink, but only 
15 years if he uses alcohol. These figures show 
that alcohol very considerably shortens the life of 
the user. 

Other effects of alcohol. The drunkard is not 
the only person who suffers from the results of 
his habits. A vast number of persons live in need 
of food, clothing, and shelter because the money 
that should have supplied these things has been 

1 In comparing death-rates in different occupations the hours 
and character of the labor, the chances of infection, the amount of 
exposure, the age of the workmen, and other factors must be taken 
into consideration, but statistics indicate that the use of alcohol 
increases the amount of consumption among the users. For ex¬ 
ample, American statistics (Census of 1900) show that the death- 
rate from consumption among all occupied males over ten years of 
age was 236.7, among brewers, distillers, and rectifiers was 256.8, 
among saloon and restaurant keepers was 285.6, and among clergy¬ 
men was 123.5. English statistics (1899) show that where there 


THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE BODY 107 

spent for drink. Among these persons there is an 
untold amount of disease and suffering and wretch¬ 
edness. Almost one third of all persons who are 
supported by charity, and nearly one half of all 
homeless and friendless children in children’s homes, 
owe their condition to some one’s intemperance. 
“ The worst feature of the poverty caused by alcohol 
is not the fact that the drunkard himself suffers, 
but the fact that innocent persons suffer far more 
than he.” 

What employers think of the use of alcohol. 

Some years ago 6976 business men employing 
1,745,823 men were asked whether they employed 
men who drank. Of those who replied 5363 said 
they would not employ men who were known to 
drink and 1613 said they made no effort to learn 
the habits of their men. Most of the great rail¬ 
roads strictly enforce rules against drinking while on 
duty, and many of them will not employ a drinking 
man. Every year the number of positions open to 
the user of alcohol grows smaller. 

were 1000 deaths among all occupied males there were 1427 deaths 
among an equal number of brewers. 

According to figures collected from the records of the Gotha 
Life Insurance Company of Prussia by Professor Guttstadt, the 
number of persons in 1000 who die of tuberculosis among different 
classes of people is as follows: 


All persons over 25 years 

160 

Hotel keepers . . 

- - - 237 

Ministers. 

76 

Brewers. 

- - - 344 

Physicians. 

113 

Bartenders .... 

- - • 556 







io8 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


What medical men think of the use of alcohol. 

The attitude of the great majority of medical men 


Employ only abstainers 


Employ 

drinkers 


J 


Fig. 77. There were 5363 
employers who. said that 
they would not employ men 
whom they knew to be 
drinking men, while only 
1613 employers said that 
they did not ask about the 
habits of their men. 


has been so well expressed by a 
recent writer 1 that we repeat 
the substance of his statement. 
“So I am bound to believe, 
on the evidence, that if you 
take alcohol habitually in any 
quantity whatever, it is to 
some extent a menace to you. 
I am bound to believe, in the 
light of what science has 
revealed, (1) that you are 
threatening the physical 
structure of your stomach, 
your liver, your kidneys, your 
heart, your blood vessels, 
your nerves, your brain; (2) 
that you are unquestionably 
lessening your power to work 


in any field, be it physical, intellectual, or artistic; 
(3) that you are in some measure lowering the grade 
of your mind, dulling your higher sense, and taking 
the edge off your morals; (4) that you are distinctly 
lessening your chances of maintaining your health 

1 Dr. Henry Smith Williams in Alcohol: How It A ffects the Indi¬ 
vidual, the Community, and the Race, published by McClure, Phil¬ 
lips & Company, New York. This little book gives an accurate 
summary of what is scientifically known of the effects of the use of 
alcohol. 




THE effects of alcohol on the body 109 

and of living to old age; (5) that you are adding 
yourself to the number of those whose habits cause 
more suffering and misery, disease and death, than do 
all other causes combined.” To these conclusions we 
might add (6) that you are fastening upon yourself 
a habit that will lead many business men to refuse 
to employ you. 1 

Questions : 1. What are some of the effects of drunken¬ 
ness on the nervous system? 2. What effects have small 
doses of alcohol on the power to do mental work? 3. How 
long does the effect of a single dose last? 4. How does the 
use of alcohol affect the resistance of the body to germ 
diseases? 5. To tuberculosis? 6. What opinion do many 
physicians hold in regard to the use of alcohol in the treat¬ 
ment of germ diseases? 7. How does the use of alcohol 
affect length of life? 8. How does the use of alcohol affect 
the drunkard’s family? 9. What do employers think of 
the use of alcohol? 

Suggestions and topics for development : Make clear that 
Figures 75 and 76 are not comparisons between drinkers and ab¬ 
stainers, but that the morbidity and mortality rates in a society com¬ 
posed of drinkers only would be higher than either of those shown. 
Inquire of the children as to what they know of the attitude of life 
insurance companies toward moderate drinkers. 

1 All authors are agreed that the use of alcohol by the normal 
person has never produced any good. Small amounts may be 
taken even for a long time without producing any very evident 
changes, but even these small amounts are in no sense to be looked 
upon as good. The well-proved statement that a single glass of 
beer interferes markedly with the ability to think and the ability 
to work is quite enough argument for letting alcohol, in any form, 
alone. — Dr. Martin H. Fischer. 


CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 

THE EFFECTS OF TOBACCO ON THE BODY 

“Less harm would be done by tobacco if it were 
more harmful.” This sentence tells a great truth, 
and it explains why there are more tobacco users 
to-day than ever before. The harm that tobacco 
does is not felt in a day or a month, and many 
tobacco users are unable to see that the habit is in¬ 
juring them. Many other persons feel that they 
would be better off without tobacco, but have the 
habit of using it so firmly fixed that they are un¬ 
able to break it. While the use of tobacco has wide¬ 
spread effects upon the whole body, we shall study 
only its effects upon the heart, the digestion, and 
the nervous system. 

The effect of tobacco upon the heart. To¬ 
bacco contains a poison called nicotin, which is 
highly injurious to the heart. In those who use 
tobacco to excess, the heart beats more rapidly than 
it should, while the force of its beat is greatly les¬ 
sened. When the habit has been continued for a 
long time, the heart’s action sometimes becomes 
very irregular, at one time beating too rapidly, at 
another too slowly, and occasionally missing a beat 
altogether. This is known as tobacco heart. While 
it is a serious condition, it usually disappears when 
the use of tobacco is stopped. 

The effect of tobacco upon the digestive 
organs. The worst effects of tobacco upon diges¬ 
tion are due to the fact that the heart is weakened 


iio 


THE EFFECTS OF TOBACCO ON THE BODY III 

and the digestive organs do not get a sufficient 
supply of blood. The digestive juices are lessened 
in amount, so that the food cannot be promptly 
digested. This trouble comes on slowly, and often 
is not noticed by the person himself. Even when 
it becomes serious, the tobacco user often believes 
that his indigestion is due to some other cause. 
When such a person gives up the tobacco habit, he 
is usually surprised to find that there is great im¬ 
provement in his powers of digestion and in his 
general health. 

The effect of tobacco upon the nervous sys¬ 
tem. When used in moderate amounts, tobacco 
soothes and quiets an excited or worried person, 
enabling him to go on with his work for a time. 
But often one who has his mind cleared of worry in 
this way forgets the importance of the work he has 
to do, and idles away his time instead of going ear¬ 
nestly to work to finish his task. When used in 
larger amounts, tobacco makes the whole nervous 
system more irritable. The brain of the tobacco 
user may become so active that he cannot sleep. 
His muscles are weak, and he cannot control them, his 
hands tremble, and he becomes so restless that it 
is impossible for him to remain quietly at work. 

Tobacco and scholarship. The worst effects 
of tobacco upon the nervous system are its effects 
upon the mind. Wherever smokers and non-smok¬ 
ers have been compared, it has been found that 


112 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


non-smokers are much better students. They not 
only prepare their lessons more easily and more 
quickly, but they retain what they have learned 
longer than the smokers. Of 2336 smokers in the 
public schools of one city, ,only 320 were able to 
keep up with their classes, while only 16 were re¬ 
ported as “bright” or “better than average” stu¬ 
dents. Most of the backward boys in the schools 
are recruits from the ranks of tobacco users. 

Tobacco a nuisance. Even if the use of tobacco 
were harmless, it would still be a nuisance to other 
people. Yellow fingers and stained teeth are un¬ 
pleasant sights, and many people are made sick by 
the odor of tobacco smoke. No one has a right to 
do that which makes his neighbors uncomfortable. 
No one has a right to do that which will injure his 
own body. Tobacco is both harmful to the user 
and annoying to others, and the only sensible and 
right thing to do is to avoid its use. 

Questions : 1. Why is the use o f tobacco on the increase? 
2. Why do those who know that tobacco is injuring them 
continue its use? 3. What are the effects of tobacco upon 
the heart? 4. Can this condition be cured? 5. In what 
way does tobacco interfere with digestion? 6. What effect 
have small amounts of tobacco on the nervous system? 7. 
Large amounts? 8. How does its use affect scholarship? 
9. Give two final arguments against the use of tobacco. 

Suggestions and topics for development: The economic side of 
the tobacco question. The effect of tobacco on the growth and 
development of the body. 


CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 


THE EYES AND THEIR CARE 



r 


'~m 

1 ■ 



1 /V ^ ■ 



Ip 

j§# 


Figs. 78 and 79. In writing the light should come from the left 
side, and the seat and desk should be the proper height to make it 
easy to keep the body and head erect and the shoulders even. In 
reading the light should come from the side so that it will shine on 
the book and not into the eyes. 

We look at the sky at night and see it studded with 
stars. Sometimes we see the round moon like a 
great quiet mother among the twinkling stars. We 
look at a rose and we see its beauty and the richness 
of its color. We know its size and the shape of its 
leaves. 

What is it that comes from the stars and the rose 
to the eye? It is light. What does the light do in 
the eye that causes us to see? It starts messages 
in the nerves of the eye, and these messages are 
carried to the brain. What do we learn from these 
messages? We learn from them the greater part of 

























PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


114 


all that we know of the world about us. To get an 
idea of the importance of the eyes and of the mes¬ 
sages that come from them, think how helpless you 
would be if you had no eyes to guide you; how little 
you would know if you should forget all that you 
have learned through their use; how much pleasure 

you get from seeing the 
world about you, and 
how dreadful it would 
seem to pass your life 
in the darkness of a 
long unlighted night. 

How the eyes are 
protected. The eyes 



Fig. 80. The light passes back are protected by the 
into the eye and starts messages in eyelids, eyelashes, and 
the nerve to the brain. . _. 

eyebrows. They are 
bathed and washed free from dust by the tears. 
These are secreted by a gland in the outer part of 
the upper eyelid and drain into the nose through 
a little duct from the inside corner of the eye. 

How the eyes are moved about. Each eye is 
moved about by six little muscles, which can turn 
the eye toward the object that we wish to see. A 
person who squints or is cross-eyed has some of his 
eye muscles shorter than others. A skillful physi¬ 
cian can remedy this trouble if it is taken in time. 

Near-sighted and far-sighted persons. Images 
or pictures of the things that we see are formed in 


THE EYES AND THEIR CARE 


"5 

the back of the eye, just as an image is formed in 
the camera of a photographer. It is these images 
that start the messages along the nerves from the 
eye to the brain. From these messages we can tell 
the size, form, and color of objects. We can tell 
many other things about them, such as whether 
they are rough or smooth and how far away they 



Fig. 81. The muscles that move the eye. When you read with a 
book very close to your eyes, as you do when you bend forward 
over your desk and rest your chin on the book you are reading, you 
put a great strain on the muscles that turn the eyes inward. 

are. In the eyes of a near-sighted person the images 
of near-by objects are clear and distinct, but the 
images of distant objects are blurred and indistinct. 
In far-sighted persons the images of distant objects 
are clear, but it is a great strain on the eyes to see 
near-by objects clearly. In some eyes the images 
are always confused, and it is not possible for the 
person to see objects at any distance clearly. All 
these troubles can be corrected and the images 







II6 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

made distinct by wearing spectacles that are prop¬ 
erly fitted to the eyes. A person who holds his 
book less than twelve inches from his eyes when he 
is reading is near-sighted and needs glasses. 

The importance of fitting the eyes with spec¬ 
tacles. If the images that are formed in the eyes 
are not clear and distinct, the eyes will always give 
trouble. Near-sighted and far-sighted persons, and 
others who do not see clearly, should, therefore, 
have spectacles at once. Many cases of nervous¬ 
ness disappear as if by magic when the eyes are 
fitted with glasses. Many persons who are wretched 
from indigestion find out that the trouble is in their 
eyes and not* in their stomachs, and that their health 
is completely restored by wearing glasses. Thou¬ 
sands of people are suffering from blinding head¬ 
aches, when all that is needed to save them from this 
pain is a pair of spectacles. Even the muscles are 
affected by the eyes, for it has been found that 
when boys who needed glasses began to wear them 
they became much faster runners. This was be¬ 
cause the boys were suffering from eye-strain, and 
their nervous systems and general health were not 
in good condition, although the boys themselves 
had never realized it. 

Eye trouble very common among school chil¬ 
dren. Of 432,000 school children examined in 
Massachusetts in 1907, more than one in five had 
defective vision. In the United States it is esti- 


THE EYES AND THEIR CARE II7 

mated that there are 2,500,000 school children who 
ought to be wearing glasses. 

Do you hold a book close to your eyes when you 
are reading? Are you falling behind in your school 
work because you cannot see what is written on the 
blackboard? Do your 
eyes smart and ache 
after you have been 
studying for some time? 

Are they red and in¬ 
flamed? Do you have 
headache or stomach 
trouble? If so, try to 
have your eyes examined 
and to get glasses if you 
need them. It is a mis¬ 
take to think that going 
without glasses will help 
a person to outgrow eye 
trouble. It is best to 
go to an oculist for glasses, and it is a mistake 
to go to a travelling optician, whom you may never 
see again; for he may be more interested in getting 
your money than in helping your eyes. 

The importance of a good light for work. The 
eyes are often injured by working in a poor light. 
It is a bad plan to try to read between sundown 
and dark, as one may not notice that darkness is 
coming on and may strain the eyes without know- 



Fig. 82. This boy carries his 
head.on one side because of eye 
trouble. He needs to be examined 
by an oculist. Do you carry 
your head on one side or turn it 
to one side when you look closely 
at objects? (After Gould.) 


118 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

ing it. Persons often carelessly seat themselves too 
far from the lamp when they read. Dark school¬ 
rooms are injuring the eyes of thousands of children. 
A bright light shining into the eyes is even worse 
than too dim a light, and one should not face a 
window or a lamp when reading or studying. Light 
from the left side is best for writing, for then the 
shadow of the hand does not interfere with the 
work. A flickering gas light should not be used for 
reading. A book printed on shiny, glazed paper is 
hard on the eyes. 

Resting the eyes. Using the eyes in close 
work, such as reading, embroidering, or sewing, 
causes the eyes to become tired. When doing such 
work it is a good plan to close the eyes for a few 
minutes occasionally or to look out of a window in 
order to rest the eye muscles; or one may rest the 
whole body as well as the eyes by standing up and 
going through one of the exercises described in 
Chapter 26. Reading while lying down or when 
walking or riding in a street car or train quickly 
tires the eyes, and if it must be done should be kept 
up for only a very short time. Serious eye troubles 
are apt to follow measles and scarlet fever, and the 
eyes should be shielded from bright light and rested 
during these diseases and during recovery from them. 

Catching diseases of the eye. There are a 
number of catching diseases of the eye (often called 
“ pinkeye ” or some similar name) that are caused 


THE EYES AND THEIR CARE 


119 


by germs. The germs are carried from one person 
to another on towels, on the hands, by flies, and in 
other ways. These diseases often leave the eyes 
weak and inflamed for life, and you should make 
every effort to avoid the germs that cause them. 

Do not wash your eyes in a public wash basin 
or wipe them on a public towel. Do not rub 
them or pick at them with 
your fingers. Boracic acid 
dissolved in water (the solu¬ 
tion is not too strong as 
long as it is all dissolved) 
and dropped into the eyes 
once or twice a day will 
often help to kill bacteria 
and relieve the smarting 
and burning that comes from 
red and inflamed eyes. 

Strong eye washes and eye salves should not be used 
without the advice of a physician. 

Foreign bodies in the eye. When a particle 
of dust or other foreign body gets into the eye, the 
eye should not he rubbed. Sometimes the body can 
be washed out with clean water; or if the upper eye¬ 
lashes are taken between the finger and the thumb 
and the eyelid drawn down and out, the position of the 
body may be changed until it can easily be removed. 
Some persons are skillful enough to turn the eyelids 
wrong side out and wipe the particle off with a cloth 



/ 


Fig. 83. Germs often get 
into the eyes from the fingers. 


120 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


or a tuft of cotton. When this is done, the fingers, 
the cloth, and everything that touches the eye should 
be absolutely clean, for it is an easy matter to get into 
the eye germs that will cause great trouble. Sharp 
pieces of metal ought to be removed by a physician 
or an oculist before they cut deep into the eye and 
start inflammation. 

Questions : i. How does the light that enters our eyes 
cause us to see? 2. How are the eyes protected? 3. How 
are they cleansed? 4. Where do the tears come from? 5. 
Where do they go after they leave the eye? 6. How are 
the eyes moved? 7. Of what advantage is this to us? 8, 
What causes a person to be cross-eyed? 9. What is the 
trouble with the images in the eyes of a near-sighted per¬ 
son? 10. How may these difficulties be remedied? 11. 
Why should this be done? 12. What are some of the 
symptoms of eye trouble? 13. Explain what kind of light 
is needed in reading and studying, and how the light 
should fall on the page. 14. How may the eyes be rested? 
15. How do germs that cause diseases of the eye spread 
from one person to another? 16. Tell how to remove a 
foreign body from the eye. 

Suggestions and topics for development : The teacher should 
test the eyes of the pupils in the room. If no test card is pro¬ 
vided by the school, one can be obtained by sending ten cents in 
stamps to World Book Company, Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York. 

Some children will be found who cannot read the writing on the 
blackboard from the back of the room. These children should 
be placed on the front benches, and the parents should be pre¬ 
vailed on to provide the needed glasses as soon as possible. 

The teacher should also look to the proper lighting of the school¬ 
room, paying special attention to whether parts of it are too dark 
and whether the children are seated facing the light. 


CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 


THE EARS AND THEIR CARE 



Fig. 84. The ear. The ear is composed of an outer, a middle, and 
an inner part. 


When you throw a stone into water, the stone 
causes waves to run out in the water. When you 
ring a bell, the bell causes waves to run out in the 
air. When you shout, when a whistle blows, or when 
a bird sings, waves are made to run through the air. 
When these waves strike the ear, you hear the bell, 
the shouting, the whistle, or the singing of the bird. 
If the air waves are large, the sound will be loud. 
If the air waves are small, the sound will be faint in 
your ears. 

The function of the ear. The ear collects the 
sound waves and makes them strike on the ends of 
the nerves of hearing. This causes the nerves of 

Hy —9 


12 1 





122 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

hearing to carry messages to the brain, and when 
these messages arrive in the brain we hear the sound. 
Certainly nothing in the world is more wonderful 
than the human ear, for it changes the air waves 
that come from the strings of, a violin or piano into 
the sweetest music, and by collecting the waves 
that are caused by the voices of our friends, it 
brings to us the thoughts that they wish to express 
to us. 

The structure of the ear. The ear has three 
divisions: the outer, the middle, and the inner ear. 
The outer ear is made up of the part that we see 
and a canal that runs down into the head. At the 
bottom of this canal is a little skin-like membrane 
called the tympanic membrane. This separates the 
outer and the middle ear. 

The middle ear is a little cavity in the bone of the 
skull. It is filled with air, and from it a little tube 
runs to the throat. In the middle ear are three 
small bones which stretch across from the tympanic 
membrane to the inner ear. The inner ear is filled 
with liquid, and in this liquid lie the endings of the 
nerve of hearing. 

How we hear a sound. The outer ear collects 
the sound waves and turns them down the canal 
to strike against the tympanic membrane. This 
sets the tympanic membrane to swinging, and the 
membrane puts the chain of little bones in motion. 
The motion of the bones disturbs the liquid in the 


THE EARS AJVE THEIR CARE 123 

inner ear and causes waves in it. These waves 
wash over the ends of the nerve of hearing and start 
messages to the brain, and when these messages 
reach the brain we hear the sound. 

The care of the ear. Practically all the serious 
troubles of the ear come from germs that work up 
the tube from the throat into the middle ear. In 
Figure 26 you can see that the openings of these 
tubes are high up in the throat, where the matter 
that falls into the throat from the nose in cases of 
catarrh passes over them and where they may be 
pressed upon and closed by adenoid growths (com¬ 
pare Figure 37). Most children who are hard of 
hearing have nose or throat trouble, and most older 
persons who are deaf suffered from these troubles 
when they were young. 

The danger from running ears. A running 

ear means that there are germs in the ear that are 
causing inflammation and forming the same kind of 
matter that comes from boils and sores. This 
trouble ought by all means to be attended to at 
once, for in a running ear there is already a hole in 
the tympanic membrane, and there is danger that this 
membrane will be destroyed or that the chain of 
bones will be broken down and incurable deafness 
caused. There is always the danger also that the 
germs will work through to the brain, which lies 
close above the ear, and cause the disease that is 
called meningitis. 


124 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


A running ear ought to be treated with medicines 
that will kill the germs in it, and this ought to be 
done by a physician. A child with a running ear 
ought also to be examined and treated for the nose 
or throat trouble that in most cases has caused 
the ear to become infected. Plugs of cotton should 
not be worn in the ear, for they do damage; the 



Fig. 85. Testing a boy’s hearing by trying how far he can hear the 
ticking of a watch. 


ears ought to be cured so that the cotton will not 
be needed. An earache may sometimes be kept 
from coming on at night by wearing a cap over the 
ear or by sleeping on a hot-water bottle, and a doc¬ 
tor can usually give something that will stop the 
pain for the time. 

Do you suffer from earache? Have you a running 
ear? Are you hard of hearing and falling behind 
in your school work because you cannot hear what 
is said in the school room? If so, try to have your 
ears examined and treated. Do not let any one tell 




























































THE EARS AND THEIR CARE 125 

you that you will probably outgrow your trouble, 
for most of the people who are hard of hearing to-day 
are in that condition because they were neglected in 
childhood, and without treatment you are likely to 
grow into a life of deafness. The ears were made 
to hear with and not to rumble and roar and wreck 
the nervous system with pain, and you should try 
to get yours to serve the purpose for which they 
were intended. A physician who understands the 
treatment of ear troubles will not tell you to wait 
and let them get well of themselves. 

Foreign bodies in the ear. If a live insect gets 
into the ear, it can be drowned and the buzzing 
stopped by pouring water or oil into the ear. Only 
a physician should try to take anything out of the 
ear, for there is always danger that an unskilled 
person will drive the object through the tympanic 
membrane. Sometimes the bitter wax which is 
formed in the canal of the ear blocks it up and in¬ 
terferes with the hearing. It should be removed by 
a physician. 

Questions : 1. How is sound caused? 2. Why are some 
sounds loud and others faint? 3. What is the function of 
the ear? 4. Name the divisions of the ear. 5. What is 
in the middle ear? 6. How is it connected with the throat? 
7. What is found in the inner ear? 8. Explain what 
happens in the ear when we hear a sound. 9. How do 
germs get into the ear? 10. Why are persons who have 
catarrh or adenoids especially liable to diseases of the ear? 


126 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


ii. What is the cause of running ears? 12. Why should run¬ 
ning ears never be neglected? 13. What should be done when 
an insect gets into the ear? 14. Why is it dangerous for 
any one but a physician to try to remove bodies from the 
ear? 

Suggestions and topics for development: The function of the Eus¬ 
tachian tube. Why a cold sometimes causes deafness. The teacher 
should test the hearing of the children in the room. Some who are 
hard of hearing will always be found, and these ought to be seated 
On the front benches. A fairly accurate test of hearing can be made 
with a watch. Watches differ in the loudness of the tick, and a 
considerable number of ears should be tested with the same watch 
to find how far it ought to be heard. In making the test a quiet 
room is necessary and the watch should always be held in the same 
way. To make a test of hearing have the child sit down, close his 
eyes, and cover one ear with his hand. Then at different distances 
try if he can hear the ticking of the watch. Sometimes hold the 
watch behind your back or muffle it with the hand or with a hand¬ 
kerchief when the child thinks that it is being held up for him to 
hear. This is necessary because some people can hardly tell the dif¬ 
ference between what they hear and what they imagine they hear. 
Both ears should be tested, and any child who seems hard of hearing 
should be examined by a physician who understands ear troubles. 
It is stated that two thirds of all deafness is caused by adenoids. 


CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 

ACCIDENTS 

In case of accident in the country, and sometimes 
even in the city, it is not always possible to secure 
a physician until considerable time has passed. 
Every one therefore should understand what is best 
to be done in some of the more common accidents. 
When one is called on to use this knowledge, he 
should above all else try to keep a cool head and to 
act promptly, for often a great deal depends on 
doing something for the patient at once. 

Broken bones. If a broken arm or leg is al¬ 
lowed to be bent or doubled, there is danger that 
the ragged ends of the bones will cut and wound 
the muscles, blood vessels, and nerves. Keep the 
limb straightened out until a physician arrives. 

Burning clothing. If your own clothing takes 
fire, do not start to run. Lie down and wrap your¬ 
self in a rug, blanket, or coat, or roll over and over 
to put out the flame. Do not stand up so that the 
flame will come up about your face, for the great 
danger comes from breathing in the flame. If an¬ 
other person’s clothing takes fire, wrap a rug or 
blanket about him, and throw him down. Protect 
your face as much as possible while doing this, and if 
you must pass through a burning building close to a 
flame, hold something before your face. Until a 
physician arrives, burns may be protected from the air 
with cloths spread with vaseline or dipped in water 
that contains baking soda. 

127 


128 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


Fainting. Lay the patient flat on his back so 
that the blood will flow easily to the head. Cold 
water sprinkled on the face or ammonia held under 
the nose will help to restore consciousness. Fifteen 
drops of ammonia given in ■ a third of a glass of 



Figs. 86 and 87. In case of drowning, first drain the water from the 
lungs, as shown in the left-hand figure. Then as quickly as possible 
get the air to passing into and out of the lungs, using the method 
shown in the right-hand figure. 

water or a cup of strong coffee will strengthen the 
patient. 

Apparent drowning. Drain the water from 
the patient’s lungs by holding him for a few seconds 
as shown in Figure 86. Then quickly lay him in 
the position shown in Figure 87 with a folded 
blanket or coat under his chest. Place the hands 
on either side of the back over the lower ribs. Throw 
the weight of the body steadily downward on the 
hands and drive the air out of the lungs. Take the 
pressure off the body without lifting the hands and 
allow the air to come into the lungs. Repeat about 
fifteen times a minute. Keep the patient as warm 





ACCIDENTS 


129 


as possible. The artificial breathing should be 
kept up for an hour or more if the patient does not 
revive sooner. 

Poison ivy. Bathe the affected parts in a weak 
solution of potassium permanganate. This can be 
made up by dissolving a small crystal of the perman¬ 
ganate in a basin of water. This medicine stains 
the skin, and when the face is affected it may be ad¬ 
visable to consult a physician about another remedy. 

Poisoning. Bottles that contain poisons should 
not be kept among medicines, and it is well to paste 
on these bottles strips of sandpaper, so that they 
can be recognized even in the dark. When a poison 
has been taken by accident, a physician should be 
called as quickly as possible. In the meantime the 
following remedies may be used: 

Carbolic acid. Use alcohol (whiskey, brandy, or 
rum will do), oil, or milk. 

Bichlorid of mercury (also called mercuric chlorid 
and corrosive sublimate). Give milk or white of 
egg. Cause vomiting by giving a tablespoonful of 
mustard in a glass of warm water, warm salt water, 
or large quantities of hot water. Tickle the throat 
with a feather or thrust the finger into the throat 
to bring on the vomiting. 

Arsenic. Cause vomiting, and if any medicine 
that contains iron is at hand, give it. The poison 
in Fowler’s solution, Paris green, and Rough-on- 
Rats is arsenic. 


130 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


Opium , laudanum , nightshade , awd Jimson weed 
poisoning. Give strong coffee or ammonia. Keep 
the patient awake by walking him about, slapping 
him, or throwing cold water over him if necessary. 
Cause vomiting. 

Dangers from electricity. As the use of 

electricity becomes more common, it is more and 
more frequently a source of accidents. Even yet 
many people do not seem to know that highly 
charged electric wires and third rails are deadly 
affairs, and that those who do not understand their 
workings ought not to take chances with them. 
Where a notice is posted warning the public not to 
cross the track of an electric line, there is a reason 
for the warning and you should keep off the track. 
When a trolley wire or an electric wire breaks and 
falls to the ground, keep away from it and let those 
who know what they are doing take care of it. It is 
interesting to experiment with electricity, but you 
cannot afford to begin in this way. 

Questions : i. What danger must be guarded against when 
a bone of one of the limbs is broken? 2. Tell what should 
be done in case the clothing takes fire. 3. In case of faint¬ 
ing. 4. How should you treat a person who was suffering 
from apparent drowning or gas suffocation? 5. Tell what 
should be done in case of poisoning with some of the more 
common poisons. 

Suggestions and topics for development : Show the class how 
to carry on artificial respiration. Write to the Department of Agri¬ 
culture at Washington for a bulletin on poisonous plants, and teach 
the children to know and to avoid the poisonous plants of the 
region. 


CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 


THE CELLS OF THE BODY 



Fig. 88. From a distance a field of poppies appears as one mass of 
color; near at hand the individual poppies can be seen. 


You have often seen a field of poppies spread like a 
yellow carpet on the earth. In such a field you know 
there are countless separate flowers; yet from a dis¬ 
tance they all appear as one. It is only when you 
look at them near at hand that you can see the indi¬ 
vidual poppies of which the mass of color is composed. 

The body built of many small parts. As a 
poppy field is composed of many separate blossoms, 
so is the human body made of many small parts called 
cells. When we look at the body, we do not see the 
little cells of which it is built; but if we examine a 
piece of flesh or skin or other part of the body under 
a microscope, the cells can be very clearly seen. The 
heart, the brain, and all the other living parts are 
made of cells. Even a drop of blood has floating in 
its liquid part millions of cells. 

The life of the body in the cells. Each of the 
millions of little cells in the body is alive. Each uses 





i3 2 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


food and oxygen, and each does all of those things 
that make living plants and living animals different 
from sticks and stones and other objects that are not 
alive. The needs of the body are the sum of the 
needs of all the cells; and the life of the body is the 
sum of the life that is within 
the cells of which it is built. 

The cells surrounded 
by a liquid. There are 
open spaces among our 
cells, just as there are cracks 
and crevices between rough 
stones when they are built 
into a wall. Into these 
spaces the liquid of the 
blood escapes and sur¬ 
rounds all the cells. From the fluid by which they 
are bathed the cells take food and oxygen, and into 
it they give off their wastes. Only in a very limited 
way is it true that we are dry-land animals; for our 
cells live in a liquid as truly as do the fishes of the sea. 

Poisoning the cells. This picture of the life of 
the cells ought to give you a truer understanding of 
the conditions of health and the causes of disease. 
You ought now to realize that ill health is often 
caused, not by the lack of food or oxygen, but by 
poisons in the liquid in which the cells live. You 
can now readily understand that if the kidneys fail 
to take the wastes out of the blood the cells must 



Fig. 89. Our bodies are made 
of cells so small they can be 
seen only with a microscope. 








THE CELLS OF THE BODY 


T 33 


suffer; that alcohol causes intoxication by poisoning 
the delicate cells of the brain; that the substances 
absorbed from the large intestine into the blood cause 
headaches by getting 



into the liquid in which W : , 
the cells live and poi- 
soning the whole body. 

You will also now 10 ^ 


better understand how 
disease germs, the 
greatest of all causes 
of ill health, poison 


Fig. 90. Cells from the liver as they 
appear under the microscope. 


the body and produce 

disease. In the next chapter, we shall learn more of 
these germs and of the diseases that are caused by 
them. 

Questions: 1 . Of what is the body composed? 2 . How 
do cells differ from things that are not alive? 3 . With what 
are the cells surrounded? 4 . Mention some of the causes 
of ill health. 5 . What is the greatest of all causes of ill 
health? 



CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 


GERMS AND GERM DISEASES 


India 


Barcelona 


Diseases may be divided into two great classes. In 
those of the first class, the trouble is in the body it¬ 
self; some organ fails in its work and the body is 
like an engine with a broken part. In diseases of 
the other class, it is not the body that is at fault. 

The difficulty is that disease germs have 
set up their growth among the cells 
and poisoned them. All diseases of this 
kind are preventable; for if we keep the 
germs out of our bodies, we shall not 
suffer from the diseases that they cause. 

Some of the diseases that are 

caused by germs. Among the diseases 
that are caused by 

I California germs are colds, 

I zZiZd catarrh, diphtheria, 

pneumonia, and con- 
1 sumption; typhoid 

fever, dysentery, 

-■-■ cholera, and all the 

diseases of the intes¬ 
tine from which so 
many little children 
die;boils,carbuncles, 
blood-poisoning, 
inflamed sores and 
(lockjaw), meningitis, 


U nited 
States 


42.3 


26.7 


16 


13-4 


9-7 


Fig. 91. The yearly number of deaths 
per one thousand inhabitants in different 
parts of the world. In any community, 
the death rate depends largely on the 
intelligence the people show in dealing 
with germ diseases. 

tonsillitis, appendicitis, and 
wounds; malaria, tetanus 


J 34 





GERMS AND GERM DISEASES 


135 


plague, and leprosy; whooping-cough, scarlet fever, 
measles, chicken-pox, smallpox, and mumps,—all 
these and many other diseases are caused by germs. 

Disease germs small plants and animals. 
What are these disease germs that cause so much sick¬ 
ness? They are very small plants and animals that 
grow in the human body. 1 




4 : 

..v* 




Fig. 92. Three different shapes of 
disease germs. On the left is the 
germ that causes boils, in the center 
the diphtheria germ, and on the 
right the germ of cholera. 


Most of them grow in the 
liquid among the cells and 
take their food from this 
liquid. Some of them 
grow in the cells them¬ 
selves and use the living 
substance of the cells for 
food. As they grow in 
the body, these germs 

produce very powerful poisons that injure the cells 
and cause disease. 

Thedefensesof the body against germs. The 

cells of the blood are called corpuscles , and there are 
two kinds of them, the white and the red. The white 
corpuscles are the soldiers of the body and it is their 
duty to defend the body by killing any germs that 
may get in among the cells. They do this by flowing 
around and swallowing the germs, and then digesting 
them. When the corpuscles are victorious over the 


1 Disease germs are so small that millions of them can swim in a 
single drop of water. So small are they, indeed, that even when there 
are hundreds of millions of them on a cup or on the hands, the cup or 
the hands may appear perfectly clean. 


136 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


germs, the disease is checked; but sometimes our 
corpuscles pay no attention to the germs among the 
cells, and we are helpless before our small enemies. 

In some diseases the white corpuscles form the 
chief defense against the germs; but in other diseases, 
a germ-killing substance that appears in the liquid 
part of the blood is a powerful defender of the body. 
When germs attack us this substance becomes 
stronger and stronger in the blood, until finally, if the 
body conquers, the germs are kill¬ 
ed by it. After some diseases, the 
germ-killing substance remains in 
the blood for years, and we usual¬ 
ly have these diseases only once. 

The importance of keeping 
germs out of the body. It is 
very important for us to try to 
build up our bodies so that they will be as strong 
as possible to resist germs, and we shall dis¬ 
cuss this subject in a later chapter. At the same 
time we must understand that the germs of such dis¬ 
eases as smallpox and measles are able at any time 
to attack nearly every one whom they can reach; 
that thousands of people who cannot resist typhoid 
fever, diphtheria, or malaria can always be found; that 
good health and a strong body by no means insure 
freedom from germ diseases; and that to escape 
these diseases it is absolutely necessary for us to 
keep the germs out of our bodies. * 



Fig. 93. One of the 
white corpuscles of 
the blood taking in 
disease germs. 


GERMS AND GERM DISEASES 


137 


How germs get into the body. The germs of 
some diseases get into the body through the bites of 
insects; in a few cases they are breathed in through 
the nose; but the mouth is the great gateway by which 


germs enter the body. In water and 
in milk; in food that has been ex¬ 
posed to flies or handled by people 
who are sick with germ diseases; 
from pencils and other objects put 
into the mouth; from drinking-cups; 
and in many other ways, disease 
germs reach the mouth. Doubtless 
in many cases the germs are carried 
to the mouth by the hands; for as 
we touch the hands of other persons 
and the door-knobs, street-car straps, 
books, and other things that other 
persons handle, we are at any time 
likely to pick up germs that will be 
dangerous to us. It is well to know 
that by washing the hands with soap 
the germs that are on them may be 
entangled in the lather and to a 
large extent removed. 

Contact Infection. In Indiana 


1880 



Fig. 94. In 1880 
the average death 
rate in Amsterdam, 
Berlin, London, 
Munich, and Paris 
was 27.7. About 
1880 men began to 
understand about 
disease germs and 
by 1909 the average 
death rate in these 
cities had fallen to 
15 - 4 - 


in 1910 the state health officials examined into the 
history of more than 900 new cases of consumption. 
In forty-five per cent of these cases the patient had 
been living with a member of his own family who had 

Hy—10 



PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


138 

the disease, and in seven per cent more of the cases 
there had been close contact"with consumptives. 
Other investigations show that as a rule disease 
germs do not live long outside the human body, and 
that far more frequently than was formerly supposed, 
they are passed directly from one person to another. 
We must realize, therefore, that one who is suffer¬ 
ing from a catching germ disease is a real danger to 
those about him; that the hands and all the things 
that the hands touch offer countless opportunities for 
the transfer of germs from one person to another; 
and that the most important step in the prevention 
of germ diseases is to separate those who are carry¬ 
ing the germs from those that are free from them. 

A mistaken notion regarding the prevention 
of germ diseases. Many persons have not yet real¬ 
ized that it is germs, and not dirt and disorder that 
cause disease. Therefore, when the question of im¬ 
proving the health of a town is brought up, they begin 
to think of gathering up loose papers from the streets, 
of banishing pigs, and of hauling away the rubbish 
that has collected in back yards. 

Matters like these have little to do with the health. 
The germs that attack pigs do not harm us, and one 
could spend all his life among ashes and old boxes 
without contracting disease from them. It is pure 
water and milk, not flowers and closely cut grass, 
that save a town from typhoid fever. It is care¬ 
ful quarantining, not beautiful pictures on school- 


GERMS AND GERM DISEASES 


139 


room walls, that saves children from diphtheria 
and scarlet fever. Let us be neat and clean by all 
means, but let us remember that the home of dis¬ 
ease germs is in the human body; that it is germs, 
and not dirt we must keep in mind when we would 
prevent disease. 

The great injury done to the body by germ 
diseases. Not only do many persons die of germ 
diseases, but many of those who are supposed to re¬ 
cover from these diseases have their bodies damaged 
for life by them. Heart trouble may come on in later 
life because the heart cells were poisoned by an attack 
of diphtheria in childhood. Kidney disease often 
develops because an attack of scarlet fever or typhoid 
fever started an infection in these organs. Measles 
may lay the foundations for future troubles in the 
air-passages and lungs; and grip sometimes poisons 
the nervous system beyond recovery. We ought not 
to be compelled to go through attacks of these dis¬ 
eases ; for germs in the body, like sand in the bearings 
of an engine, often cause the machine to wear more 
in a week than it ought to wear in years. 

Questions: 1. What is the cause of the trouble in diseases 
of the first class? 2. In diseases of the second class? 3. 
Name some common germ diseases. 4. What are disease 
germs? 5. Where do they grow in the body? 6. In what 
two ways does the body defend itself against germs? 7. 
Why is it necessary for us to keep germs out of our bodies? 
8. How do germs enter the body? 9. Mention some ways 
by which they may get into the mouth. 10. What mistaken 


140 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


idea do people sometimes have regarding the prevention of 
germ diseases? 11. What injury do disease germs do 
besides directly causing many deaths? 

Suggestions and topics for development: Find out how many 
of the pupils’ homes have been visited by some serious disease 
like typhoid fever or diphtheria, and in how many cases the dis¬ 
ease has been allowed to spread to other members of the family. 
Drive home the idea that disease germs are organisms as definite 
as cows and horses; that every case of disease caused by them 
is due to taking the germs into the body; and that when one mem¬ 
ber of the family has a disease it is not necessary for the other 
members of the family to contract it. 

Make a small, deep hole in the side of an apple and pack into it 
material from a rotten apple. Lay the apple aside for a couple of 
days and then cut it open. Show the class how the rot has entered 
the sound flesh of the apple. 

Send to the Secretary of the State Board of Health at the state 
capital for bulletins, which will be found to contain splendid mate¬ 
rial for supplementing this and subsequent lessons. Distribute 
these bulletins to parents in case a communicable disease appears 
in your school. 


CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 


THE PUS-FORMING GERMS 



Fig. 95. A little time spent in cleansing and caring for a wound 
may save trouble later. 


The pus-forming germs are among the most wide¬ 
spread of all the germs that are capable of causing 
disease. They are found in the soil around the 
dwellings of men and of animals, and they always 
occur in great numbers on the human skin, where 
they feed on the dead cells and other matter on the 
skin. There are several different kinds of these 
germs, but they all cause inflammation and form 
pus , the thick, creamy, liquid matter that is found 
in boils and infected wounds. 

Diseases caused by pus-forming germs. 
The pus-forming germs may grow in almost any part 
of the body; in wounds they cause pus to be formed; 
in the skin they cause pimples, boils, carbuncles 















142 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


and erysipelas. Very commonly they attack the 
walls of the throat or intestine and cause tonsillitis, 
sore throat, inflammation of the bowels, or appendi¬ 
citis. In young children they often grow in the ears; 
occasionally they attack the membranes around the 
brain and cause meningitis, or they may set up their 
growth in the lungs and cause pneumonia. In like 
manner they may grow in the lining of the heart, or 
they may spread through all the body and cause 
blood-poisoning. 

Weak and strong races of pus-forming germs. 

Some varieties of the pus-forming germs seem to be 
entirely harmless; others are exceedingly dangerous. 
None of them should be allowed to enter the body 
when it can be prevented; but germs from a car¬ 
buncle, a case of erysipelas, or a case of blood- 
poisoning are especially to be feared. Germs from a 
boil can easily start the trouble in another person, 
and it is a common thing for a person with a boil to 
scratch the germs into the skin and cause a whole 
crop of boils in different parts of the body . 1 

The care of wounds. A cut or a sore should be 
tied up to keep pus-forming germs from getting into 
it, and if particles of dirt have gotten into a wound 
they should be removed. Generally this can best be 
done by washing the wound with warm water, using 
when necessary a clean cloth rubbed on pure soap 

1 A physician reports that a young girl who was suffering with a boil 
visited four different girl friends in four different families, and in each 
case the girl visited was attacked by boils. 


THE PUS-FORMING GERMS 


143 


to wipe out the dirt. A fresh wound, especially one 
that bleeds freely enough to wash out the germs, is 
often best treated by tying it up “in the blood” and 
not opening it until it has healed. Carbolated 
vaseline or borated vaseline is often useful in treating 
small wounds and sores that have pus in them. 

Questions: 1. Where are the pus-forming germs found? 
2. What diseases do they cause? 3. Why does a person 
who has a boil often have other boils in different parts of 
the body? 4. Tell how you would treat a wound. 


CHAPTER THIRTY 

TYPHOID FEVER 

Wherever man makes his home, there is typhoid 
fever found. In the United States alone it attacks 
every year from a quarter to a half million people, 
and not an hour passes that some home is not left 
in sorrow because of it. Yet the cause of typhoid 
fever is well known. We know how the germs 
spread and how to prevent the disease. It is not 
necessary for us to sit idly by and year after year 
see it pass through the land striking down those 
who cross its path. 

The typhoid germ. Typhoid germs leave the 
body in the wastes from the intestines and kidneys 
and sometimes in the sweat. They can live for 
some time (probably several weeks) in water, and 
it is thought that they can remain alive for several 
months in the soil. They can live frozen in ice for 
weeks, and in milk and some cooked foods they 
are able not only to live but to grow and multiply. 
They will die if they are thoroughly dried, and 
they can be killed with hot water. 

How typhoid germs are scattered about. 
Typhoid germs have no legs to walk about with and 
no wings with which they can fly through the air. 
Everywhere they go they must be carried, but they 
are so very small that they can be carried about in 
many ways that we do not think of. The wastes 
from a typhoid patient may be thrown out on the 
ground and the germs washed into a stream. Miles 

144 


TYPHOID FEVER 


145 


below where this is done, people may use the water 
from the stream and thus get the disease. Flies 
may walk over the wastes from 2jg deatbs 
a typhoid patient and carry on 
their feet thousands of the germs 
to food or to dishes. A person 
who is suffering with a light at¬ 
tack of the disease may handle 
milk and cause a great epidemic. 

Those who are sick with typhoid 
fever and those who take care of 


46 deaths 


J 


typhoid patients are almost sure 

to get the germs on their hands. 

These germs may then get into 

food; they may be left on pump 

handles or well buckets, on door 

knobs or wash basins. In any of 

these or a hundred other ways 

they may get on the hands and 

into the mouths of other persons, fig. 96. in 1906 Cin- 

Destroying the germs that cinnati used ^filtered 

water from the Ohio 

COme from those who have River and had 239 

typhoid fever. Every one of the deaths from typhoid 
,, , , , 1 1 r fever. In 1909 the 

thousands and thousands of per- water was filtered, and 

sons who have typhoid fever in the deaths from ty- 
our country every year is sick Pj 10 ^ fever dro PP ed 
because he has swallowed ty¬ 
phoid germs that have come from some other 
person. To check the spread of the disease, 




146 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

therefore, we must keep the germs from becoming 
scattered about. Every case' of typhoid fever 
should be treated in the same way that a case 
of smallpox or of diphtheria is treated. No one 
should be about the patient except those who 
.are taking care of him. All wastes that may 
contain the germs should be carefully destroyed 
(page 167). No flies should be allowed near the 
patient, for they may carry the germs about. 
Those who take care of the patient should wash their 
hands frequently in some disinfectant that will 
kill germs, and the dishes and drinking glasses used 
in the sickroom should be kept by themselves and 
boiled. The bedclothes should be changed often 
and boiled as soon as they are taken from the bed, 
and it should be remembered that any one who 
touches these clothes will probably get germs on 
his hands. It is only by keeping the germs from 
typhoid patients from becoming scattered about 
that we can hope to stop the spread of the disease. 

Typhoid germ carriers. When a typhoid fever 
patient gets better, he should, if possible, be exam¬ 
ined to see that he is free from germs before he again 
lives and eats with other members of the family. 
This is important, because just as a diphtheria pa¬ 
tient often has the germs of the disease in his throat 
for several weeks or months after he is well, so in 
some cases typhoid fever patients carry the germs 
for weeks, months, or even years after they have 


TYPHOID FEVER 


147 


recovered from the disease. These germ carriers, 
because they are going about everywhere among 
other people, are more dangerous than are those 
who are really sick with the disease, and many 
cases of typhoid fever have been traced to them. 



Fig. 97 . By these paths typhoid germs reach the mouth. In the 
community in which you live, how could each path be blocked ? 


Protecting ourselves from typhoid germs. 

There are yet many cases of typhoid fever in our 
country in which the germs are not destroyed, and it 
is certain that we have many germ carriers among 
us. We must therefore take care to guard ourselves 
from typhoid germs that have become scattered 
abroad. These germs are likely to reach us in 
water, and if there is no other way of getting 
water that is considered safe by physicians, we 
should boil our drinking water. Typhoid germs 
are carried about by flies, and houses should be 
screened and the breeding places of flies removed 
(page 168). Food that has been exposed to flies 








148 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


or handled by the public is unsafe, and infected 
milk is the cause of a great many cases of typhoid 
fever. 



Fig. 98 . In hilly and rocky regions, wells and springs may be in¬ 
fected by germs that are washed for long distances over layers of 
rock. In such regions the well should be on higher ground than any¬ 
thing about the place that may pollute it. 

In general, typhoid germs reach us from the 
wastes and hands of typhoid patients and germ 
carriers, and we must guard the paths along which 
the germs can travel to us from these persons. 

The germs of other intestinal diseases spread in 
the same ways that typhoid germs are spread. 
Dysentery (flux), diarrhoea, and cholera infantum 
(summer complaint) are caused by germs, and the 
germs of all these diseases are spread in about the 
same ways that typhoid germs are spread. Dysen¬ 
tery is a most dangerous disease, and cases of it 
should be carefully looked after to keep the germs 








TYPHOID FEVER 


149 


from reaching other persons. The intestinal diseases 
from which so many young children die in hot 
weather are caused to a great extent by germs taken 
in impure milk, but these germs can also be carried 
by water or by flies. A little baby should be kept 
away from other children that have the disease. 

Questions: 1. How do typhoid germs leave the body? 
2. Are typhoid germs hard to kill? 3. What are some of 
the ways in which they may be scattered? 4. What can 
we do to keep the disease from spreading ? 5. What are 

some of the ways in which we can protect ourselves from 
typhoid germs ? 6. What other disease germs are spread in 

the same way as typhoid germs ? 

Suggestions and topics for development: Discuss with the 
class the Rules for the Care of Typhoid Patients issued by your 
City or State Board of Plealth. Show that it is cheaper to use dis¬ 
infectants liberally in case of typhoid fever than it is to allow other 
members of the family to become infected, as is often done. Find 
out the chief sources of infection in your community and discuss 
methods of avoiding infection. Teachers who live in rural com¬ 
munities should show how wells and springs are often infected by 
washing clothes where the drainage reaches them or by the hands 
of some one who is taking care of a typhoid patient. By multiplying 
the number of typhoid deaths in your city or state by 8 or 9, 
the approximate number of cases of the disease will be obtained. 
It is estimated that the direct cost of the average case in loss of 
time and medical fees is $240. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE 

TUBERCULOSIS (CONSUMPTION) 



Fig. 99. An open-air school for children who have tuberculosis. 
Most of the children in these schools improve in health at once. 
{After a photograph in The Survey, March 5, 1910.) 

Tuberculosis has spread itself through the whole 
world. In the warm tropics the people fall before 
it, and in the frost-bound regions of the earth it is 
well known. It finds its way into the mansions of 
the rich and it enters the cottages of the poor. It 
causes the death of one seventh of the human race, 
and in our own country one person in every ten 
dies of it. The germ that causes this disease may 
grow almost anywhere in the body, and we may 
have tuberculosis of the bones, of the kidneys, of 
the intestines, or of any other part of the body. By 
far the most common form of the disease, however, 










TUBERCULOSIS 


151 

is tuberculosis of the lungs, or consumption. This 
disease has long been called the Great White Plague, 
and the germ that causes it has been well named 
the Captain of the Men of Death. 

Tuberculosis an expensive disease. Con¬ 
sumption is a long, lingering disease, and it often 
attacks people at the time of life when they are 
earning a living not only for themselves but for 
others as well. For these two reasons it is one of 
the greatest of all causes of poverty. 1 Exactly how 
much this disease costs our country in money it is 
not possible to say, but one estimate places the 
figure at a billion dollars a year. 

The germ of tuberculosis. The germ of tu¬ 
berculosis withstands drying longer than most 
germs, and in a damp or dark house it sometimes 
remains alive for months. It attacks many animals 
as well as man, and cattle especially suffer from this 
disease. It grows slowly, and usually the germ has 
been in the body for months before the disease 
shows itself. It gets into the body either by being 
breathed into the lungs or by being swallowed and 
carried through the body in the blood. 

1 In the city of Washington it was found that about one half of 
all the poverty in the city was due to sickness, and that as a cause 
of poverty consumption was far more important than any other 
disease. Every day in the United States tuberculosis makes orphans 
of over two hundred children under twelve years of age, and it has 
been found that out of every ten children in the county homes for 
children in Indiana, four are there because one or both parents have 
died or have become unable to work because of consumption. 


152 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


Tuberculosis germs spread from consumptives 
and in milk. Tuberculosis germs do not grow in 
Early treatment the fields and pastures. They are not 
found in the rain or on the leaves of 
the trees. They come from the people 
and from the cattle that have tuber- 


Late treatment 

Fig. ioo. Of con¬ 
sumptives who 
begin treatment 
early in the dis¬ 
ease, 76 in 100 re¬ 
cover or have the 
disease arrested. 
Of those who be¬ 
gin treatment in 
the late stages of 
the disease, only 
19 in 100 recover 
or have the disease 


culosis, and they get into our bodies 
by way of the mouth or the nose. 
This means that if we are to check 
the disease we must keep the germs 
from spreading from the people and 
the cattle that are carrying them. 

How tuberculosis germs are 
spread from consumptives. Mil¬ 
lions of germs are coughed up in a 
day by a consumptive and they are 
always in his mouth. If the patient 
is a careless one, the germs will surely 
get on his hands and clothes. They 
are left on drinking cups and dishes 
that are used by consumptives, they 
may be in food or milk that a con- 


arrested. {From sum ptive has handled, or they may 

the experience of 

the State Sana- be left on pencils, books, door knobs, 
torium at Rutland, 0 r on anything that he has touched. 
Massachusetts.) ^ S p U t um j s no t carefully de¬ 

stroyed, the germs will be carried about by flies, they 
will get into drinking water, they will blow about 
in dust, and in many ways they will reach other 




TUBERCULOSIS 


153 


persons and start the disease in them. When a 
consumptive coughs he may send out into the air 
for several feet droplets of saliva that are full of 
germs. A consumptive therefore should hold a 
handkerchief or paper napkin before his mouth 
when he coughs, lest some other person breathe 
in the droplets and the germs that fly from his 
mouth. 

Spitting a most dangerous habit. Spitting on 
floors, sidewalks, or similar places is a habit that 
is most dangerous to the health of a community. 
When tuberculosis germs are left in such a place, 
they are sure to be carried into houses on shoes 
and trailing skirts, they are blown about in the 
air in dust, they are carried by flies, and in many 
other ways they are spread where they cause sick¬ 
ness and death. Not more than half the people 
who have tuberculosis germs in their mouths know 
it, and no one should spit on the sidewalk, in the 
street car, or on the floor of a public building or 
private house. 

Germs from a consumptive should be des¬ 
troyed. The first great point in preventing the 
spread of germs from a consumptive is to destroy 
the sputum. It should be received in a pasteboard 
cup or on a piece of cloth. This should then be 
burned,'and not left where flies can get to it or 
where the germs may become scattered about in 
other ways. The dishes of a consumptive should 

Hy—11 


54 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


be kept separate from those of the rest of the family, 
and they should be boiled after each time that they 
are used. A consumptive should wash his hands 
occasionally in a disinfectant (page 167) to free 
them from germs. His handkerchiefs should be 
soaked in a disinfectant or kept in water until they 
can be boiled, and his clothes should be boiled be¬ 
fore they are washed with other clothing. A con¬ 
sumptive always swallows some of the germs, and 
these are in the intestinal wastes. It is therefore 
necessary to keep these wastes covered from flies, 
to prevent their polluting drinking water, and to 
guard against their getting scattered on the earth 
about the homes of men. 

Tuberculosis germs in milk. A considerable 
number of cattle have tuberculosis, and it is now 
known that many persons, especially children, get 
the disease from milk. All dairy cattle should be 
examined to see whether or not they have the dis¬ 
ease. When milk is used from cattle that have not 
been examined, it is best to heat the milk to kill 
the germs in it. This will not only help to check 
tuberculosis, but will prevent a considerable amount 
of typhoid fever, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and other 
diseases that are spread by milk. 

The importance of fresh air in the treatment 
of consumption. Every one should understand 
how important fresh air is in building up the body 
so that it can resist germs. There is little hope for 


TUBERCULOSIS 


155 


the consumptive who shuts himself up in the house 
and sleeps with his windows tightly closed. On the 
other hand, in the open-air schools that are run in 
some cities for children who have tuberculosis, and 
in sanatoria where the patients to a great extent 



Figs, ioi and 102. Good food, fresh air, and rest are very important 
in the treatment of consumption. 

live and sleep in the open air, many consumptives 
are being cured of the disease. Every consumptive 
should have a light, airy room that will not only 
give him fresh air but will let in the sunlight to kill 
the germs in the room. He should also have some 
place like an upper porch where he can spend a 
great part of his time outdoors. 

Food, rest, and a skilled physician important. 
To gain the strength that he needs, a consump¬ 
tive must have an abundance of nourishing, well- 
prepared food. He should have rest and should 















156 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

not exercise or work, or he will bring on fever in 
the afternoons. He should also have a skilled 
physician to guide him in his care of himself and 
to give him the medical attention that he needs. 
Climate is not very important in the treatment 
of consumption, but in general a cool, dry climate 
is best. One of the most important points of all is 
to begin the treatment while the disease is still in its 
early stages. Not only is consumption far easier to 
cure when it is in its first stages than later, but it 
can be cured in much less time and at much smaller 
cost. 

Questions : 1. Explain the difference between tubercu¬ 
losis and consumption. 2. How much does tuberculosis 
cost the people of the United States each year? 3. How 
does the germ of tuberculosis enter the body? 4. Where do 
tuberculosis germs come from? 5. Mention some ways by 
which the germs are spread from a consumptive. 6. Why is 
the habit of spitting a dangerous one ? 7. How may the germs 
from a consumptive be destroyed? 8. What diseases be¬ 
sides tuberculosis are caused by milk? 9. How may the 
germs in milk be killed ? 10. Where should a consump¬ 
tive spend a great part of his time? n. Mention other 
things that are important in the treatment of consumption. 
12. Give two reasons why the treatment of consumption 
should be commenced at the earliest possible moment. 

Suggestions and topics for development : Hygienic living as 
a preventive of tuberculosis. Pasteurizing milk. Disinfection of 
houses recently occupied by consumptives. Obtain Board of 
Health bulletins on tuberculosis and Knopf’s Tuberculosis as a 
Disease of the Masses and How to Combat It. This book is pub 
lished at cost (25 c^ts) by F. P. Flori, New York. 



CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO 

OTHER DISEASES OF THE AIR PASSAGES AND LUNGS 

Besides consumption there are 
many other diseases of the air 
passages and lungs. The germs 
of all these diseases enter the body 
through the mouth and nose, and 
they are all spread by coughing, 
by spitting in public places, by 
the hands, by drinking cups, and 
in the various other ways by which Fia io 3 - A dnn kmg 

, . . cup that had been in 

the germs from a consumptive are use a school for nine 

scattered abroad. days was examined and 

n • t> • was estimated to have 

Pneumonia. Pneumonia causes on each square inch ot 
more deaths in the United States its surface 100,000 bac- 
than any other disease except tena - 
tuberculosis. It is a catching disease, and no one 
should be about a pneumonia patient except those 
who are taking care of him. The sputum of a per¬ 
son who has the disease is filled with the germs and 
should be destroyed. 

Diphtheria. This disease is caused by a germ 
that grows in the air passages, usually in the throat. 
Generally the disease shows itself in from one to 
three days after the germs get into the body. Many 
cases of diphtheria are so mild that they are mis¬ 
taken for simple sore throat, but in other cases it is 
a very severe disease. Sometimes the germs remain 
in the throat of a diphtheria patient for weeks or 
even for months after he recovers. It is therefore 
T 57 



158 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

very important that a physician examine any one 
who has recovered from diphtheria to see if he is 
free from the germs before he is let out of quaran¬ 
tine. Some well persons who have been about 
those who have the disease 
may carry the germs in 
their throats although they 
themselves are not sick. 
For this reason those who 
are living in a family where 
there is diphtheria should 
be quarantined as well as 
the person who is sick, and 
when diphtheria breaks out 
in a school it is often neces¬ 
sary to examine all the chil¬ 
dren in the school and 
quarantine some who are 
carrying diphtheria germs, 

luicu jlvjl puuin, uuuiuug 

In these fountains the person even when they are not 
drinks the stream of water sick. In the treatment of 

IuhTilHpf ing thef0Untain diphtheria nothing is so 
important as to give anti¬ 
toxin at the earliest possible moment. The disease 
sometimes called membranous croup is diphtheria. 

Whooping cough. Whooping cough causes the 
death of great numbers of babies, and children 
should be protected from it. Usually the disease 
shows itself in from four to fourteen days after the 



Fig. 104. Sanitary drinking 
fountains should be Substi¬ 
tuted tor rmhlir drinkincr rims 












OTHER DISEASES OF THE LUNGS 


159 


germs get into the body, but sometimes it does not 
appear for three weeks after the person has been 
exposed to the disease. It is a very catching dis¬ 
ease, and at the first symptoms of it children should 
be removed from school. As a general rule a child 
may be allowed to return to school in six weeks after 



Figs. 105 and 106. In schools where the sanitary drinking fountain 
cannot be installed, a covered water cooler and individual cups 
should be substituted for the old-fashioned open bucket and com¬ 
mon drinking cups. 


the beginning of the whoop, provided the hard cough¬ 
ing spells have ceased. 

Influenza (grip). This is a very severe and a 
very catching disease. The germs of it are spread 
in the same ways that the germs of consumption, 
diphtheria, and pneumonia are spread. Much can 
be done to check the spread of influenza by keeping 
the germs from spreading from those who are sick 
with it. How much can be done in this way was 


























160 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

shown in a school in Norwalk, Connecticut. This 
school had in it about twelve hundred pupils, when 
an epidemic of grip occurred in the city. On the 
second floor all the children who took the disease 
were sent home and the‘rooms were disinfected 
each night. On this floor only twenty pupils were 
attacked. On the first floor no care was taken to 
prevent the spread of the germs, and two thirds 
of the children had the disease. Old people and 
sick people should be very carefully protected from 
influenza germs, and no one should expose himself 
to them when he can avoid doing so. 

Colds. Colds may be caused by the pneumonia 
germ, the influenza germ, or by a number of other 
germs. They are very catching, and the germs are 
spread in all the ways that influenza or pneumonia 
germs are spread. A child who has a bad cold should 
not be in school, and any one with a cold should do 
all in his power to keep the germs from spreading to 
others. 

Protecting ourselves from the germs of res¬ 
piratory diseases. Do not be with those who 
have diseases of the lungs and air passages unless 
there is some special reason why you should do so. 
Do not handle objects that they have handled. Do 
not use drinking cups that they have used. Do 
not put pencils and other articles into your mouth. 
Avoid breathing in dust as much as possible (page 
53). Keep your hands away from your face, and 


OTHER DISEASES OF THE LUNGS l6l 

wash them well with soap and water before eating. 
These are some of the ways by which you can keep 
the germs that cause diseases of the air passages 
and lungs from getting into your body. 

Good health a great protection against germ 
diseases. When germs get into the body, the 
body tries to resist and kill them. There are a 
few germs like the germs of smallpox and measles 
that hardly any one can resist; but if we are in 
health we can often overcome the germs of diseases 
like pneumonia or colds. For this reason one of 
the best ways of protecting ourselves against these 
and many other germ diseases is to give our bodies 
good food, to keep our teeth clean and sound, to 
take plenty of sleep and exercise, and to make sure 
that we have an abundance of fresh air. We ought 
to do everything in our power to keep from taking 
the germs of consumption, pneumonia, influenza, 
and colds into our air passages, but these germs are 
so widespread that sooner or later we are bound to 
get them into our bodies. Then we will need to 
have our bodies so strong that they can defy the 
germs and kill them, and the only way to have a 
strong body is to give it continually the care that 
it needs. 

Clean teeth a protection against germ diseases. 

Suppose there are two boys in the same school; that 
one of these boys has clean, sound teeth, and that 
the other boy has the other kind of teeth.- Suppose 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


162 

that a bad cold, grip, pneumonia or diphtheria ap¬ 
pears in the school, and that each boy gets a few of 
the germs into his mouth. Which boy will probably 
have the better digestion, the stronger body, and be 
more able to fight off the germs? In which mouth 
will the germs be likely to grow and multiply until 
the boy can no longer resist them? Which boy is 
more likely to carry the germs for some time in his 
mouth, to have them on his hands, and to leave 
them on anything he handles? These are questions 
which it will not be hard for you to decide. 

Questions: 1. In what ways do the germs of diseases cf 
the air passages and lungs get into the body? 2. How can 
one prevent the scattering of germs from a patient sick with 
pneumonia? 3. What is the cause of diphtheria? 4. Why 
should a family in which there is a case of diphtheria be 
quarantined? 5. How long should children who have 
whooping cough be kept out of school and away from well 
children? 6. How are the germs of influenza spread? 7. 
Does getting wet cause a cold? 8. What is the best way to 
avoid influenza and colds? 9. What is the greatest protec¬ 
tion against diseases of the air passages and the lungs? 

Suggestions and topics for development: The necessity for 
quarantining all cases of diphtheria and for sending home all chil¬ 
dren who have communicable diseases. Discuss any habits the 
children may have that allow the germs of respiratory diseases 
to spread from one pupil to another. Discourage the passing of 
objects from one pupil to another, and put away common drinking 
cups, wash basins, and towels. The teacher should realize that the 
public school is a great disseminator of germ diseases, and should 
strive to make it as safe as possible for the children who attend it. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE 

MALARIA, SMALLPOX, AND OTHER GERM DISEASES 



Fig. 107. The mosquito that carries malaria.(T) has spots on its 
wings and stands up on its head when resting and biting. The com¬ 
mon mosquito takes the position shown in B. 

Malaria. The germ of malaria grows in the 
blood, and a person who is attacked by this disease 
may be troubled with it for months or years. One 
person cannot catch malaria from another person, 
but if a mosquito bites any one who has malaria 
germs in his blood, the mosquito gets the disease. 
Then, if the mosquito bites another person, it will 
leave the germs in the blood of the latter, and about 
a week later this person will have malaria. It was 
formerly thought that breathing air from swamps or 
drinking impure water caused malaria, but we now 
know that these ideas are not correct and that the 
disease is spread only by mosquitoes. In the next 
chapter we shall study how to destroy mosquitoes. 

163 






164 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

Smallpox. Smallpox was formerly one of the 
most feared of all diseases, because nearly every one 
who was exposed to it took the disease, and because 
a great number of those who were attacked by it 
died. A little over a hundred years ago it was found 
that a person could be protected against smallpox 
by vaccination. Now all that we have to do to es¬ 
cape the disease is to be vaccinated, and in countries 
where vaccination is practiced by all the people, 
smallpox is almost an unknown disease. 

Scarlet fever. Scarlet fever is a very catching 
disease. The germs are in the scales that come 
from the skin and also in the discharges from the 
nose and mouth, and they can be scattered about 
in many ways. Scarlet fever is often dangerous 
and should be carefully quarantined. The dis¬ 
ease usually appears in from two to ten days after 
the germs are taken into the body, but may not 
show itself for a much longer time. A patient is 
dangerous as long as the discharges from the eyes, 
ears, and nose continue. Usually cases of scarlet 
fever are quarantined for about fifty days. 

Measles. Measles is a very catching disease. 
The matter from the nose and throat is especially 
dangerous, and the germs, like the germs of scarlet 
fever and smallpox, may be carried on clothing. 
No one with a cold should be allowed to come near 
a person who has measles, and the eyes should be 
shaded and carefully guarded during this disease. 


MALARIA, SMALLPOX AND OTHER DISEASES 165 

A patient is usually dangerous to others for about 
three weeks after the time of the breaking out of the 
rash. The germs die out in a house in about two 
weeks. Measles ought to be carefully quarantined, 
for it is a most dangerous disease and causes about 
eight thousand deaths a year in the United States. 

Other germ diseases. Among other diseases 
that are caused by germs may be mentioned chicken 
pox, German measles, acute (inflammatory) rheu¬ 
matism, meningitis, cholera, leprosy, plague, and 
yellow fever. Germs also cause many diseases of 
animals. One of these diseases is rabies or hydro¬ 
phobia, which man sometimes gets from the bite or 
scratch of a dog or cat. Some persons think that 
dogs take rabies because of a lack of water or be¬ 
cause of hot weather, but this is not correct. They 
may have the disease at any time of the year, and 
they get the germ from the bite of another animal 
that has the disease. The Pasteur treatment will 
almost always prevent rabies if it is begun in 
time. 

Questions: 1. How are the germs of malaria carried from 
one person to another? 2. How may smallpox be prevented? 
3 . How are scarlet fever and measles spread from one person 
to another? 4. Why is it necessary to quarantine these 
diseases? 5. Name some other germ diseases. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR 

PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF DISEASE GERMS 

Sometimes a farmer finds thistles springing up in 
his pasture year after year, even when he has care¬ 
fully cut down all the thistles that are on his own 
land. Then the farmer knows that some of his 
neighbors are raising thistles and allowing the wind 
to blow the seeds about. A thistle grows only from 
a thistle seed, and as long as they keep appearing in 
the pasture the seeds must come from somewhere. 

Disease germs, like thistles, do not come from no¬ 
where. Every case of typhoid fever is caused by 
germs that come from another case of typhoid fever. 
Every case of whooping cough is caused by germs 
that come from another case of whooping cough. 
Every case of grip is caused by germs that come 
from another case of grip. The people who have 
these and other catching diseases scatter the germs 
abroad just as a thistle scatters its seeds. One very 
important way of checking the spread of these dis¬ 
eases is to destroy the germs that come from sick 
people and not allow them to get spread abroad. 

Disinfectants. A disinfectant is something 
that kills germs. Light and drying are two of na¬ 
ture’s disinfectants that are great enemies of germs. 
Eire is one of the best disinfectants for sputum and 
articles of little value, and boiling water kills dis¬ 
ease germs at once. Germs may also be killed by 
bichlorid of mercury, quicklime, carbolic acid, lysol, 
and other substances that can be purchased at drug 

166 


PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF GERMS 167 

stores. Carbolic acid and lysol are good disinfect¬ 
ants. For intestinal wastes, a strong whitewash made 
of quicklime (slaked lime is useless) is cheap, and as 
good as anything that can be used. For furniture, 
floors, and the hands, bichlorid of mercury is often 
used, but it destroys metals. One of the best dis¬ 
infectants for the hands and for objects that are 
made of metal is put up in tablets that contain 
biniodid of mercury and potassium iodid. 

Mistakes in disinfecting. People often make 
a disinfectant too weak to injure the germs. For 
example, a few spoonfuls of carbolic acid are put into 
a bucketful of water, when a whole pint of the acid 
to a bucketful (ten quarts) of water is needed to 
make a disinfectant strong enough to kill germs. 
It is also a mistake to use too. small an amount of 
a disinfectant, or not to allow the material to re¬ 
main in it long enough to do the work. The rule 
followed in hospitals is to use as much disinfectant 
as there is material to be disinfected, and matter like 
intestinal wastes should be allowed to stand in the 
disinfectant for several hours. 

The mistake of allowing germs to be scat¬ 
tered about a sickroom. One trouble in the sick¬ 
room is that the person nursing a case of some 
disease like typhoid fever works about the bed of 
the patient and then touches his own clothing or other 
articles in the room before disinfecting his hands. 
If this is done, the germs soon get on everything 


168 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

in the room, and any one who even touches a door¬ 
knob, a chair, or a curtain in such a room is likely to 
get the germs on his hands. A basin of disinfectant 
should be kept close at hand, and the hands washed 
in it after doing any work 
that is likely to leave germs 
on them. Large aprons that 
will protect the clothing should 
be worn in the sickroom, and 
they should be changed fre¬ 
quently. Remember that 
germs are so small that fifty 
millions of them have plenty 
of room to swim in a drop 
of water, and that it requires 
great care to keep them from 
becoming scattered about. 
Keeping our houses free 
from flies. Flies are great carriers of disease germs, 
-for they swarm about all manner of uncleanness, 
and then come into the house and walk over food 
and dishes, or on our very hands and faces. Houses 
should be screened, and everything possible should 
be done to keep flies out of them, but the best way 
to fight flies is to keep them from breeding about 
our homes. 

The egg of the fly is laid in manure and sometimes 
in garbage. The egg hatches into a little white 
maggot, and in about ten days the maggot changes 



Fig. 108. The leg and 
foot of a fly as seen under 
a microscope. On their 
legs and feet flies often 
carry thousands of germs. 


PRE VENTING THE SPREAD OF GERMS 169 


into a fly. If all manure and garbage is hauled away 
and disposed of every week, or kept covered so that 
flies cannot get to it to lay their eggs, then the flies 
will have no place to hatch. If the people of a 
town should buy great numbers of incubators and 
hatch chickens in every yard, they would expect the 
chickens to become very abundant about them. 



Fig. 109. The life history of the fly. A shows the eggs ; B, the 
larva or maggot; C, the pupa, and D the adulc fly. 

So if they keep incubators in the form of manure 
heaps for hatching flies, they must expect that the 
town will swarm with flies. Flies should not be al¬ 
lowed to get into the sickroom, nor should they be 
allowed to touch the germ-filled sputum and wastes 
that come from the sick. 

Freeing our homes from mosquitoes. The egg 

of a mosquito is laid on water, and hatches into a 
wriggler. In hot weather the wriggler turns into a 
mosquito in about ten days. The best way to fight 
mosquitoes is to drain the pools of water, cover or 

Hy—12 



PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


170 

remove the rain barrels, screen or cover the cisterns, 
and carry away the old tin cans and buckets in which 
the mosquitoes hatch. The wrigglers and eggs in a 
pool or barrel can easily be killed by pouring kero¬ 
sene on the water, and a water tank or barrel can be 
kept free from mosquitoes by putting a few minnows 
or other small fish into it. Some mosquitoes fly 
considerable distances, but the kinds that carry 
malaria and yellow fever spend their lives near the 
place where they are hatched, that is, within a few 
hundred yards of it. A town or a country house can 
easily free itself from disease-carrying mosquitoes 
by looking after the breeding places that are near it. 

Impure water a carrier of disease germs. The 
germs that are most commonly taken into the 
body in water are the germs of typhoid fever and 
other diseases of the intestine. In diseases like 
pneumonia, diphtheria, grip, and consumption, how¬ 
ever, the germs are swallowed, and are in the wastes 
from the intestine, and may be spread by water. 
Figure 96 shows how important it is for a city to 
provide a good water supply for its inhabitants, and 
any one who uses water from a private well or spring 
cannot take too much care in guarding his drinking 
water from disease germs. 

Keeping germs out of a well or spring. In a 
mountainous country where the earth contains 
cracked and sloping layers of rock, germs can make 
their way through cracks in the rocks for long dis- 


P RE VENTING THE SPREAD OF GERMS 171 

tances into wells and springs. Germs cannot pass 
through more than a few feet of soil, however, and 
in a level country where the wells are dug entirely 
through soil, germs can get into a well only at the 
mouth. They do this by getting on well-ropes and 
pumps from the fingers of germ carriers and the fin- 



Fig. 110. A shows a well so arranged that surface water and germs 
are kept out of it. B shows how surface water and germs get into a 
well. 

gers of those who have been waiting on the sick; from 
the feet of those who stand on the platform; from 
surface water that flows over the soil and runs down 
behind the wall into the well; or from clothes that 
are washed near the well. Arrange the covering of 
the well so that nothing can get into it at the mouth, 
for usually disease germs get into the well by this 
way and not from deep in the ground. A spring, is 
never safe as long as surface water can flow into it, 
















IJ2 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


and in rocky regions it is difficult to tell where the 
water of a spring comes from or when it is safe. 

Disposing of the body wastes. Most disease 
germs that attack us grow either in the air passages 
and lungs, or in the mouth, throat, and intestine. 
These germs leave the body in the sputum and in 
the body wastes. It is unsafe therefore for people 
to spit in public places, and it is even more unsafe 
for the body wastes to be scattered about. These 
wastes should never be allowed to pollute the soil 
about houses; they should not be left where rains 
can wash them over yards and into wells and springs, 
and they should not be left where flies can carry 
them about. Perhaps no other one thing is so im¬ 
portant to the health of the world as a safe method 
of disposing of human wastes. 

Questions i I. Where do disease germs come from? 2. What 
is a disinfectant? 3. Name some disinfectants. 4. What 
mistakes are often made in disinfecting? 5. How can we 
keep germs from getting on objects in a sickroom? 6. Ex¬ 
plain where flies breed and how one can get rid of them. 
7. What diseases are spread by water? 8. Explain how 
germs get into a well or spring and how to keep them out of 
it. 9. Where do germs grow in the body and how do they 
leave the body? 

Suggestions and topics for development: Show the advan¬ 
tages of isolation, quarantine, and disinfection in dealing with in¬ 
fectious diseases. Show how many diseases have been eradicated 
by these measures and how the only hope of limiting the spread 
of certain diseases now prevalent lies along these lines. Make it 


PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF GERMS 173 


plain that disease germs do not get into a cistern from a hot, dry 
roof, but from the people who come about the cistern. 

In nearly all village and rural communities the methods of dis¬ 
posing of excreta offer endless opportunities for infection with 
germs of all kinds and with intestinal worms. Show how the pre¬ 
sence of germ-carriers renders imperative some sanitary method of 
disposing of human excreta. 

Bulletins on The Housefly and The Mosquito can be obtained free 
from the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. In regions 
where mosquitoes are very numerous, this repellant, recommended 
by the Department of Agriculture, may be found of use: one part 
cedar oil, two parts oil of citronella, two parts spirits of camphor. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE 


FRESH AIR AND THE RESISTANCE OF THE BODY TO 
DISEASE GERMS 



Fig. hi. The open-air school building at Oakland, California. (After 
photograph furnished by Dr. N. K. Foster.) 


In a telephone exchange in Massachusetts employ¬ 
ing over sixty girls, a record of the absences on ac¬ 
count of sickness was kept for a number of years. The 
amount of sickness was greatest in the winter, when 
many of the girls suffered from colds and grip, and 
during the hot weather of July and August, when 
there was always considerable sickness from dis¬ 
eases of the digestive organs. Finally, a ventilator 
was put into the building. The first summer this was 
in use, the amount of sickness was not much affected, 
but when the second spell of hot summer weather 
came again the girls were not sick as they had been 
in other years. Breathing the pure air through a 
whole winter had so built up their strength and im¬ 
proved their health that they could resist the germs 
that caused the summer diseases. In the winter 
months themselves, the girls to a great extent es- 


*74 











FRESH AIR AND RESISTANCE TO GERMS 175 

caped the colds from which they had suffered, and 
the amount of sickness for the winter was less than 
half what it had been before the ventilator was put 
into the building. 

Building up the resistance of the body. From 
the experience of the Massachusetts telephone com¬ 
pany we can draw three conclusions. The first is that 
it is possible to build up the body so that it will often 
resist attacks of the germs of colds and of other 
minor diseases. The second is that building up the 
body resistance is a work, not of a day or of a week, 
but of months. The third conclusion is that fresh air 
increases the resistance of the body to germs. From 
experience in the treatment of consumption and 
pneumonia, and from other' evidence, we are not only 
sure that this last conclusion is correct, but we know 
that of all the methods we can use to increase the 
natural resistance of the body, none is so important 
as living and working in pure air 1 . 

The trouble with indoor air. Experiments have 
proved that the proper ventilation of a room includes 
more than merely bringing in enough fresh air to 
carry away the carbon dioxid. It includes also 
keeping the air in the room at the proper temperature, 
keeping the proper amount of moisture in it, and 
keeping it in motion. These points are important, 
and we shall discuss them at this time. 

1 When the United States Pension Bureau moved into a new and well- 
ventilated building in Washington, the number of days of sickness among 
the employees decreased from 18,736 to 10,141 per year. 


176 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


In buildings that are heated and ventilated by 
forcing great quantities of warm air through them, 
special arrangements must be made for moistening 
the hot, incoming air or it will be so dry that it will 
quickly evaporate the water from the skin. This 
drying of the skin causes nervousness and restlessness, 
and school children in such an atmosphere cannot 
keep their attention on their work. It also cools the 
body and gives a chilly feeling, and, unless the 
temperature is at least 75 degrees, many persons feel 
cold when they are being dried out in this way. 
Air that is brought into schoolrooms ought to be 
moistened as it enters, and in houses, vessels of water 
ought to be kept in furnaces, on stoves, and on or be¬ 
hind radiators, so that a proper supply of moisture 
will be provided in the air. 1 

On the other hand, in crowded buildings and in 
factories, where there is little ventilation, the air often 
becomes too wet, and because of a lack of air currents, 
a layer of moist, warm air collects about the body. 
This gives the same sensation of weakness and 
suffocation that is felt on a hot, muggy summer day. 
Under such conditions the temperature should be 
kept low and it is most important that by opening 
windows or by other methods currents be set up that 
will blow away the hot, wet air blanket from about 
the body. This not only benefits the health, but it 

1 In many schoolrooms the humidity of the air is not more than 25 
per cent. It ought to be from 50 to 70 per cent. With this amount of 
moisture in the air a temperature of from 68 to 70 degrees is comfortable. 


FRESH AIR AND RESISTANCE TO GERMS 


177 


quickens the mind and very greatly increases the 
amount of work that it is possible to do. 1 

Open-air schools. From reading the above you 
will understand that it is a rather difficult and expen¬ 
sive matter to supply schoolrooms with the right kind 
of air. Then why not use the invigorating outdoor air, 
which nature supplies to us free of charge? In a 
region with a mild climate this is certainly the 
sensible thing to do and many outdoor schools may 
now be found in California. One such school was 
in operation in Oakland during the winter of 1910-11, 
in the building shown in Figure hi. In this school 
the children did regular work, and they had no special 
feeding or rest periods. Yet during the first half year 
no child in the school failed to gain in weight and the 
average gain was 3.70 pounds; in the regular school 
building the average gain was 2.36 pounds. The 
children in the open-air school were free from colds, 
while as usual, the children in the indoor school at 
times suffered from them. Most noticeable of all, 
however, was the wide-a-wake, vigorous way that the 
open-air pupils kept at their work. Day after day 
they finished their tasks without becoming tired, and 
by the end of the year all of them had advanced one 
grade, several of them had advanced two grades, and 

1 An experiment was performed in which a number of students were 
locked in a small room and watched through the glass door of the room. 
At first they were laughing and joking, but soon they began to show signs 
of distress. Electric fans in the room were then started, and without 
any fresh air being introduced the students again became comfortable. 


i 7 8 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


one boy had done two and one-half years’ work in 
the one year. 

In many places the open-air schools are hospitals 
where children who are already sick are carefully fed 
and nursed and only light school work is done. The 
one at Oakland is a busy workshop, where the boys 
and girls learn their regular lessons and by breathing 
outdoor air save themselves from becoming sick. 
Why should not all our boys and girls be in schools 
of this kind ? 

Questions: i. What effect had ventilating the Massa¬ 
chusetts telephone exchange on the girls that worked in it? 
2. What three conclusions can we draw from this? 3. 
What trouble is there with the air in artificially heated build¬ 
ings? 4. What effect has dry air on the body? 5. What 
trouble often arises in buildings that are too crowded? 6. 
What may be done to remedy such conditions? 7. Give an 
account of the Oakland open-air school. 8. Is there any 
reason why you should not be in such a school? 

Suggestions and topics for development: Open Air Schools 

(Doubleday, Page & Co., New York) by Dr. L. P. Ayers, and an article 
by Prof. C. E. A. Winslow, published in Factory , July, 1911, and re¬ 
viewed in the Literary Digest, July 8th, 1911, contain abundant 
material for additional work on this general topic. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX 

SOME SIMPLE EXERCISES FOR USE IN SCHOOLS 

In this chapter are some simple exercises that may 
be given in school when the pupils have become 
tired of study and their muscles have become 
cramped from sitting for some time in their seats. 
The teacher should select exercises so that each day 
the muscles of the whole body will be brought into 
play, and the school should be trained to go through 
them in a quiet, orderly manner, so that little time 
will be lost from the lessons. The windows should 
be thrown wide open before beginning the exercises 
(page 49). In warm weather some teachers may 
prefer to give the exercises outdoors. 

Position while exercising. The most impor¬ 
tant point is to hold the body erect. The head 
should be stretched up as high as possible, as though 
the body were hanging by the back of the top of 
the head. This will straighten out the spinal col¬ 
umn; hold the neck straight with the chin close to 
the neck, and lift the ribs up off the lungs (see Fig¬ 
ure 53). In the following exercises, whenever the 
command “Position!” is given, it means that the 
head is to be held in this way, with the hands at the 
sides. The position for resting is to stand with 
the feet even and wide apart, and the arms crossed 
behind the back and resting on the backs of the 
hips. 1 The trunk and head should be held erect but 

1 If preferred the position shown in Figure 57 may be used 
in resting. 


179 


i8o 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


not rigid while resting. The command “In place!” 
means to take this position, and the command 
“Rest!” means to remain in the resting position 
until the next command is given. The command 
“In place , rest!” should be given after each exercise. 

Commands. There are always two parts in the 
commands; one part tells what to do , and the other 
part tells when to do it. In the com¬ 
mands for these exercises the parts 
which tell when to do a thing are 
printed in black letters. For example, 
the command, “ Hands on hips, place,” 
means to place your hands on your hips 
when the teacher says “Place!” In 
some of the exercises the complete 
commands and counting have not been 
given. The teacher will easily under¬ 
stand what these should be and will 
give them. 

A. Arm raisings. 

Exercise i. Arm raisings through front hori¬ 
zontals to high over the head (Fig. 112). 

Raise the arms high over the head, knuckles 
leading ( i . e. the backs of the hands going before 
the palms), through a front horizontal position. 
Keep the arms and fingers stretched out stiff and 
straight. The teacher should count 1 as the arms 
are raised, and 2 as they are lowered. Keep the 
head stretched up. 



Fig. 112. 





SIMPLE EXERCISES FOR USE IN SCHOOLS 181 

Command: Position. 

Arm raisings through front horizontals to high over 
the head , up — down. 

(Teacher counts:) 

i, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2. 1 

In place , rest. 

Exercise 2. Arm raisings through front hori¬ 
zontals to high over the head, rising on the toes. 

The same as Exercise 1, but 
rise on the toes as the arms 
are raised and bring the heels 
down as the arms descend. 

Command: Position. 

Arm raisings through front 
horizontals to high over the head, 
rising on toes , up —down. 

1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 

1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2. 

In place , rest. 

Exercise 3. Arm raisings 
through side horizontals to high over the head 
(Fig. 113). Directions as for Exercise 1, but raise 
the arms through a side horizontal position, bring¬ 
ing them up over the head with the palms forward, 
thumbs touching. Do not bend the arms at the elbows. 

Command: Position. 

Arm raisings through side horizontals to high over 
the head , up — down. 

1 If preferred, the teacher may count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 







182 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


I, 2; I, 2; I, 2; I, 2; I, 2; I, 2; I, 2; I, 2. 

In place, rest. 

Exercise 4. Arm raisings through front hori¬ 
zontals, descending through side horizontals. 

Raise the arms as in Exercise 1, 
and bring them down as in Exer¬ 
cise 3. Vary the exercise by some¬ 
times rising on the toes. 

Command: Position. 

Arm raisings through front hori¬ 
zontals, descending through side 
horizontals, up —down. 

1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1/2; 1, 2; 
1, 2; 1, 2. 

In place, rest. 

These arm exercises can be varied by having the 
pupils go through them with either the right or left 
arm, with both arms, or with the right and left arms 
alternately. 

B. Leg Exercises. 

I. Leg Raisings. 

Exercise 5. Leg raising to front horizontal 
(Fig. 114). 

The leg should be brought forward and upward 
with the toe pointed down to bring the foot as nearly 
as possible in a straight line with the leg. Do not 
bend the leg at the knee. Head and trunk erect; 
i. e. “ stand tall.” 

Command: Position, hands on hips, place. 




SIMPLE EXERCISES FOR USE IN SCHOOLS 183 

Leg raising to front horizontal , right leg , up — 

down. 

1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1. 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2. 

Left leg , up . 1 

I, 2; (repeat eight times). 

In place , rest. 

Exercise 6 . Leg raising to side horizontal. 

Count and position of leg and foot as in Exercise 
5, but raise leg to the side. Do not let the body 
lean over to the side. 

Command: Position , hands on hips , 
place. 

Leg raising to side horizontal , up — 

down. 

Exercise 7. Leg raising to back hori¬ 
zontal. 

Count and position of leg and foot 
as in Exercise 5, but raise leg to the 
back. 

Command: Position , hands on hips , place. 

Leg raising to hack horizontal , up — down. 

II. Leg Flexions {Bendings). 

Exercise 8. Leg flexion forward (Fig. 

Position of toe as in Exercise 5. Leg from knee 
down should be vertical. Raise knee toward chin 
as far as possible, keeping the body and head erect. 



Fig. 115. 


ns)- 


1 This command should be given instead of the last three 
counts while the right leg is being raised. The exercise will not 
then be stopped while the command is being given. 



184 PRIMER OF HYGIENE 

Command: Position. 

Hands on hips , place, 

Leg flexion forward , right leg , up — down. 

i, 2; (repeat eight times.) 

Left leg , up — down. 

i, 2; (repeat eight times.) 

In place , rest. 

Exercise 9. Leg flexion backward. 

Count and position of foot as in Exercise 5. Bend 
the leg backward at the knee. Raise the foot as 
high as possible, keeping the 
knees close together and even. 
Command: Position. 

Hands on hips , place. 

Leg flexion backward , right leg , 
up — down. 

III. Squat. 

Exercise 10. Half squat, 
with arms to front or side hori¬ 
zontals (Fig. 116). 

Lower the body, raising the heels, bending 
only at the knees and hips. The knees should 
be turned out so that they will be in a straight 
line with the toes. As the body descends, raise 
the arms to front horizontal (extended straight 
out in front, palms down), or to side horizontal 
(extended out at sides); now lower the arms to 
the sides as legs are straightened. Head and trunk 
erect. 



Fig. 116. 



SIMPLE EXERCISES FOR USE IN SCHOOLS 185 

Command: Position. 

Half squat , with arms front {or side) horizontals , 

squat. 

1 (lower body and raise arms), 2 (lower arms and 
raise body); (repeat eight times.) 

In place , rest. 

C. Body flexions. 

Exercise 11. Trunk forward flexion (Fig. 117). 
Place the hands on the hips, and bend the body for¬ 
ward. Keep the legs straight at the 
knees and the head in a straight line 
with the trunk, the body bending 
only at the hips. 

The count for body movements 
should be slower than for limb move¬ 
ments 

Command: Position. 

Hands on hips , place. 

Trunk forward , bend, upward , raise. 

1, 2; (repeat four times.) 

In place , rest. 

Exercise 12. - Trunk sidewise flexion. Position 
as for Exercise 11. Do not let the head bend over 
toward the shoulders. 

Bend alternately to the right and to the left. 

Command: Position. 

Hands on hips , place. 

Trunk sidewise , bend, upward , raise. 

1,2; (repeat four times.) 

Hy —13 



Fig. 117. 




PRTMER OF HYGIENE 


186 

In place , rest. 

Exercise 13. Trunk backward flexion. 

Position and directions as for Exercise n. Bend 
the body backward. Do not let the legs bend at 
the knees. 

Command: Position . 

Hands on hips , place. 

Trunk backward , bend, upward , stretch. 

i, 2; (repeat four times.) 
place, rest. 

Exercise 14. Alternate trunk flexions. Bend 
forward, then to the right, then to the left, and then 
backward. 

Command: Position. 

Hands on hips , place. 

Alternate trunk bendings , bend. 

1, 2; (bend each way and repeat once.) 

In place , rest. 

The exercises in bending may be varied by clasp¬ 
ing the hands together and placing them on top of 
the head instead of on the hips. 

D. Breathing exercises. 

Exercise 15. Breathing exercise, hands at sides. 
In all breathing exercises stand tall (page 83). 

Inhale and exhale slowly and steadily through 
the nostrils. Keep the head and body erect as 
the air is exhaled. At the command inhale, 
take in a full breath, and hold until the command 
exhale. 


• SIMPLE EXERCISES FOR USE IN SCHOOLS 187 

Command: Position. 

Breathing exercise with hands at sides , inhale — 
exhale (repeat four times). 

In place , rest. 

Exercise 16. Breathing exercise, hands on ribs. 

Place the hands over the lower ribs, and as the 
air is exhaled, press on the ribs with the hands. 

Command: Position , hands on ribs , place. 

Breathing exercise , hands on ribs , inhale — ex¬ 
hale (repeat four times). 

In place , rest. 

Exercise 17. Breathing exercise, arms raised 
through front horizontals high over the head. As 
the air is inhaled, slowly raise the arms as in Exer¬ 
cise 1, and let them come down again slowly as the 
air is exhaled. Keep the arms and fingers stretched 
out straight and stiff. 

Command: Position. 

Breathing exercise , arms raised through front hori¬ 
zontals to high over the head , inhale — exhale 
(repeat four times). 

In place , rest. 

Exercise 18. Breathing exercise, arms raised 
through side horizontals to high over the head. Posi¬ 
tion and movement of arms as in Exercise 2. Raise 
the arms as the air is inhaled and lower them as the 
air is exhaled. Head , arms , and fingers stretched up. 

Command: Position. 

Breathing exercise , arms raised through side hori - 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


188 

zontal to high over the head , inhale—exhale (re¬ 
peat four times). 

In place , rest. 

Exercise 19. Breathing exercise, arms raised 
through front horizontals and lowered through side 
horizontals. The same as Exercise 17, but move 
the arms as in Exercise 3. 

Exercise 20. Breathing exercise, arms raised 
through front horizontals high over the head, rising 
on toes. The same as Exercise 17, but rise on the 
toes as the air is inhaled and slowly bring the heels 
down as the air is exhaled. 


CUMULATIVE REVIEW 

It is intended that these questions shall be used in an oral 
or written review. This review should begin after the study 
of the subject of foods has been finished, and as each suc¬ 
ceeding section of the book is completed the questions on that 
section should be added to those already in use. If the re¬ 
view is oral, a certain number of questions sh uld be given at 
the beginning of each lesson. If it is written, not less than 
fifteen minutes a week should be set aside for this purpose. 

This list of questions should be gone over at least four or 
five times each year in the grades in which the subject is 
pursued. The important facts of hygiene will thus be so 
impressed on the pupil’s mind that they will be carried 
through life. 

FOODS,—THEIR USES, PREPARATION, AND CARE 

1. Give three reasons why the body needs food. 

2. Name some of the more important building foods. 

3. Name some of the more important heating and strength¬ 

ening foods. 

4. Why should we eat a variety of foods? 

5. Why should starchy foods be well cooked? 

6. Why are fried foods hard to digest? 

7. Explain why foods spoil. 

8. Mention two important points in the care of food. 

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS AND THEIR CARE 

9. Describe the alimentary canal. 

10. Tell the story of digestion. 

11. Why should food be thoroughly chewed? 

12. Explain how bad teeth cause ill health. 

RESPIRATION AND CIRCULATION 

13. Give two reasons why the body must have air. 

14. What changes take place in the blood in the lungs? 

189 


190 


PRIMER OF HYGIENE 


15. How does dust cause diseases of the air passages and 

lungs? 

16. What are adenoids and what are the symptoms of them ? 

17. What are some of the bad effects of adenoids and en¬ 

larged tonsils? 

18. What is the remedy for them? 

19. What effect has exercise on the heart? 

20. What effect has alcohol on the heart? 

21. How would you stop bleeding from a wound ? 

22. How would you stop bleeding from the nose? 

BATHING, CLOTHING, AND EXERCISE 

23. How does the skin regulate the body heat? 

24. What is the most important point in the care of the hair ? 

25. What benefits and what bad effects may come from a 

cold bath ? 

26. Why should heavy clothing be removed when we come 

indoors? 

27. How does wet clothing injure the body? 

28. Explain how the body is held erect. 

29. How may an erect carriage be acquired? 

30. What fault of carriage will sitting in the position shown 

in Figure 59 lead to? 

31. Where is the best place to exercise? 

32. How does hard exercise immediately before or after 

eating interfere with the digestion? 

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, ALCOHOL, AND TOBACCO 

33. Explain why we need a nervous system. 

34. Name the principal parts of the nervous system. 

35. What is the work of the nerves? 

36. Explain the work of the brain. 

37. Mention three points that are important in the care of 

the nervous system. 


CUMULATIVE REVIEW 


191 

38. How do we form habits? 

39. Mention seven important hygienic habits. 

40. Why should good habits be formed in youth? 

41. What effect has alcohol on the brain? 

42. What effect has alcohol on the resistance of the body to 

germ diseases? 

43. What effect has alcohol on length of life? 

44. What effect has tobacco on the heart? 

45. What is the effect of tobacco on the nervous system? 

THE EYES AND EARS AND THEIR CARE 

46. How does light cause us to see? 

47. What is the trouble in near-sighted and far-sighted eyes? 

48. How may these troubles be corrected? 

49. What are some of the evil results that come from going 

without glasses when we need them? 

50. Describe the ear. 

51. Explain how we hear a sound. 

52. What is the cause of disease in the ear? 

53. Why should earache or a running ear have prompt 

attention? 

GERMS AND GERM DISEASES 

54. What are disease germs? 

55. How do they cause sickness? 

56. Where do they come from? 

57. How do they get into the body? 

58. How does the body defend itself against germs? 

59. What diseases are caused by pus-forming germs? 

60. How are the germs from boils often spread? 

61. Explain how you would dress a wound. 

62. How do typhoid germs leave the body? 

63. How do they reach the mouths of other persons? 

64. How can the spread of the disease be stopped ? 


192 primer of hygiene 

65. How are the germs of tuberculosis spread from con¬ 

sumptives? 

66. How can this be prevented? 

67. Name four important factors in the treatment of con¬ 

sumption. 

68. Name four other important diseases of the air passages 

and lungs. 

69. Tell how the germs of these diseases reach us and how 

we can protect ourselves from them. 

70. How do the germs of malaria get into the body? 

71. How long is a scarlet fever patient dangerous to others? 

72. How do the germs of measles leave the body? 

73. How may the germs from the body of a sick person be 

destroyed? 

74. What mistake is often made in disinfecting? 

75. Where do flies breed and how can we keep them from 

multiplying? 

76. Where do mosquitoes breed and how can a community be 

freed from them? 

77. What effect had ventilating the Massachusetts telephone 

exchange on the health of the girls who worked in it? 

78. What troubles are there with indoor air? 


INDEX 


Accidents, what to do in case of, 
127-130 

Adenoids, 60-62; effects of, 61; 
frequency of, 60; importance of 
removal of, 61 

Air, necessity for, 46; trouble with 
indoor, 175 
Air passages, 53 

Alcohol, an ally, of tuberculosis, 
105; not a brain stimulant, 103; 
and length of life, 106; attitude 
of employers toward, 107; atti¬ 
tude of medical men toward, 
108; effects on body, 103-109; 
on digestive organs, 36; on heart, 
66; on lungs, 57; on resistance to 
germ diseases, 105 
Antitoxin, in diphtheria, 158 
Arsenic, antidote for poisoning by, 
129 

Bacteria, cause of spoiling of 
food, 22; how they enter food, 
23, 24; keeping out of food, 23; 
killed by heat, 24 
Bathing, 75 
Baths, cold, 76 

Bichlorid of mercury, antidote for, 
129 

Bile, 27 

Bleeding, how to stop from cuts, 
66; from the nose, 67 
Blood, 64, 65 
Blood vessels, 64 

Body, carriage of, 82-84; organs of, 
5; parts of, 5 
Boils, due to germs, 141 
Bones, broken, care of, 127 
Brain, work of, 92 
Breathing exercises, directions for, 
187, 189; value of, 57 
-Breathing through mouth, 59 
Breeding places of flies, 168, 169; 
of mosquitoes, 169 


Building foods, 10 
Burns, care of, 127 

Candy, harm done by, 35 
Carbolic acid, antidote for, 129 
Carbon dioxid, 47 
Cells, 131-133 
Cheerfulness, habit of, 102 
Chewing food, importance of, 33 
Cholera infantum, 148 
Clothing, 77-79; changing with 
weather changes, 78; effects of 
wet, 78; in cold weather, 77 
Coarse foods, value of, 35 
Coffee, use of, 33 
Cold drinks, harm done by, 33 
Colds, causes of 160. 

Consumption, in dusty trades, 54. 

See Tuberculosis 
Cooking, 19-21 
Corpuscles, of blood, 135 
Corrosive sublimate, antidote for, 
129 

Croup, membraneous, 158 

Deafness, causes of, 123 
Diarrhoea, 148. 

Digestion, organs of, 26-27; pro¬ 
cess of, 27-30. 

Digestive organs, keeping in health 

3 2 -37 

Diphtheria, 157; antitoxin in, 158; 

quarantine in, 158 
Disease germs, 134-140; defenses 
of body against, 135; diseases 
caused by, 134; keeping out of 
body, 136; preventing spread of, 
166-173 

Diseases, two classes of, 134 
Disinfectants, 166; mistaken ideas 
about, 167 


193 



194 


INDEX 


Drowning, what to do in apparent, 
128 

Dust, dangers of breathing, 53; 
keeping down, 54 

Ear and its care, 121-126; danger 
from running, 123; foreign 
bodies in, 125; function of parts, 
122; structure of, 122; treatment 
of running, 124 
Electricity, dangers from, 130 
Esophagus, 27 

Exercise, 86-89; an aid to diges¬ 
tion, 87; danger of over-exercis¬ 
ing, 88; in the schoolroom, 88; 
proper position for, 179; rules 
in regard to, 87; violent, injuri¬ 
ous, 65, 88 

Exercises, for use in schools, 
179-189 

Eyes, avoiding diseases of, 118- 
119; care of the, 113-120; how 
moved, 114; troubles of, in chil¬ 
dren, 116; danger of neglect, 
116, 117 

Fainting, treatment of, 128 
Farsightedness, 115 
Fats, use in cooking, 20 
Flies, as germ carriers, 168; of in¬ 
testinal diseases, 148; of tu¬ 
berculosis germs, 15 2-153; of 
typhoid germs, 145 
Flux, how caused and spread, 148 
Food preservatives, caution against, 
24 

Foods, as building material, 9; 
buying, 15-18; care of, 22-25; 
cooking, 19-21; as scource of 
heat, 11; in treatment of tuber¬ 
culosis, 155; unsafe when 
handled, 145; uses in the body, 
9-i3 

Fresh air, effect on resistance to 
disease germs, 174-178; effect 
on nervous system, 96; in treat¬ 
ment of consumption, 154 


Gastric juice, 28 

Germ, tuberculosis, in discharges 
of consumptive, 152, 154; how 
destroyed, 153; in milk, 154; 
how spread, 151, 152; typhoid, 
how to destroy, 145; how to 
protect ourselves from, 147; 
how spread, 144 

Germs, diseases caused by, 134, 
135, j 65; cause of running ears, 
123; of intestinal diseases, 148; 
keeping out of foods, 24; of respi¬ 
ratory diseases, protecting from, 
160; preventing spread of, 166— 
173; of malaria, carried by mos¬ 
quitoes, 163 

Grip, 159-160; how to prevent 
spread of, 160 

Habits, and health, 99; import¬ 
ance of, 98-102; lasting, formed 
in youth, 101; seven hygienic, 
99; mental, 100 

Hair, care of the, 73; growth of, 73 

Health, importance of, 2; great 
laws of, 7; good, a protection 
against germ diseases, 161 

Hearing, testing the, 126 

Heart, 63; work of the, 64; effect 
of alcohol on, 66; of tobacco on, 
no 

Hygiene, defined, 3 

Illness, ascertaining amount of 
preventable, 3 

Indigestion, causes of, 32-37 

Influenza (grip), 159 

Jimson, weed, antidote for poison¬ 
ing by, 130 

Kidneys, 69-70; function of, 69; 
keeping in health, 70 

Laudanum, antidote for poisoning 
by, 130 

Light, for reading, 117, 118 



INDEX 


r 95 


Liquid at meals, 33 
Liver, 27 

Lunches, indigestible, 35 
Lungs, care of, 52-58; diseases of, 
150-162; effects of alcohol on, 
57; of tobacco smoke on, 56; 
functions of, 53; harmfulness of 
crowding, 55 

Malaria, how caused, 163, 
Measles, 164; quarantine in, 165 
Meningitis, cause of, 123, 165 
Mercuric chlorid, antidote for, 129 
Milk, care of, 23, 24; carries germs 
of intestinal diseases, 148; of tu¬ 
berculosis, 15 2-154; of typhoid, 
J 4S 

Mosquito, carrier of malaria, 163; 

how to get rid of, 169 
Muscles, that hold body erect, 82; 
work of, 83 

Nails, care of the, 74 
Nearsightedness, 115 
Nerves, work of, 90 
Nervous system, 90-93; care of 
the, 94-97 

Nightshade, antidote for poisoning 
by, 130 

Open-air schools, 150, 177 
Opium, antidote for poisoning by, 
I 3° 

Organs of body, the principal, 6 
Outdoor sleeping, 50 
Overeating, consequences of, 34 
Over-exercising, dangers of, 65, 88 
Oxygen, need of body for, 46 

Pain, bad effects of suffering, 96 
Pancreas, 27 

Pasteur treatment for rabies, 165 
Pinkeye, 118 
Pneumonia, 157 


Poison ivy, antidote for, 129 
Poisons, antidotes for common, 129 

Preventing spread of disease germs, 
166-173 

Pus-forming germs, 141-143 

Quarantine, necessary in diph¬ 
theria, 158; in measles, 165 

Rabies, 165 

Resistance of body to disease 
germs, 135-136, 161-162, 174- 
178 

Respiration, artificial, 128 

Rest, necessity for, 94; in tuber¬ 
culosis, 155 

Salivary glands, 27 
Scarlet fever, 164 

Sitting positions, good and bad, 85 
Skeleton, function of the, 5, 81 
Skin, 71—76; as a regulator of body 
heat, 72; structure of the, 71 
Sleep, necessity for, 95 
Sleeping, outdoor, 50 
Smallpox, 164 

Sound, how heard, 122; how pro¬ 
duced, 121-122 

Spinal column, function of, 82 
Spinal cord, 90 
Spitting, dangers of, 153 
Springs, how polluted, 170-171; 

keeping germs out of, 170 
Sputum, dangerous in pneumonia, 
157; in tuberculosis 152 
Starchy foods, 11 
Stomach, 27, 28 

Teeth, care of the, 38-45; care of 
the first set, 43; causes of decay 
in, 41; decayed, cause of germ 
diseases, 39, 40; of ill health, 39; 
spread of decay in, 41; straight¬ 
ening irregular, 44 




196 


INDEX 


Tobacco, effect on the body, no- 
112; on digestive organs, no; 
on the heart, no; on the nervous 
system, in; on scholarship, in; 
a nuisance, 112 

Tobacco smoke, effects on the 
lungs, 56 

Tonsils, enlarged, effects of, 60-62; 
frequency of, 61; importance of 
treating, 61 

Tuberculosis, 150-156; cause of, 
1515a curable disease, 155-156; 
expense of, 151; germ of, 151; 
greatest cause of poverty, 151; 
importance of early treatment 
of, 152, 156; number of deaths 
caused by, 150; spread by con¬ 
sumptives, 152; by milk, 152; 
germ, destruction of, 153 

Typhoid fever, 144-149; caused by 
germs from other cases, 145; 
number of cases yearly in United 
States, 144; a preventable dis¬ 
ease, 144 

Typhoid germ, carriers of, 146; 
destruction of, 145; flies, as car¬ 
riers of, 145; life of, outside the 


body, 144; protecting ourselves 
from, 147; scattering of, 144; 
how to prevent, 145 


Vaccination, 164 
Ventilation, methods of, 48, 51; 
necessity for, 47; in sleeping 
rooms, 49; problems in, 175, 176 
Ventilators, as reducers of disease, 
174,175 

Vision, tests of, 120 


Wastes from body, importance of 
disposing of safely, 172 
Water, impure, a germ carrier, 170; 

keeping pure, 170 
Well, how to keep germs out of, 
170; how polluted, 171-17 2 
Whooping-cough, 158-159 
Wounds, care of, 142 

Yellow fever, spread by mos¬ 
quitoes, 170 











































































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